The Missing Piece in Ranger's Life
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Chapter 16
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Ranger's POV
Everyone was on their feet.
Euphoria.
Jubilation.
Celebration.
Smiles abounding.
Instantly, the tension and intense concentration that was created by the hunt, the chase, the set up and the final capture, was dramatically transformed. There was an eruption of loud cheering and exuberance with high fives, and congratulatory back slaps and the usual complicated handshakes and fist bumps. Satisfaction was evident with a successful takedown as the culmination and the desired outcome. Everyone was smiling.
Personally, I would have liked to see that fucking Morelli and his collaborators dead. However, knowing they were going to be held accountable for every dirty deed and action in their plot to kill me, destroy our mission and my team, and the collateral damage with the rescue target, was great satisfaction. Fort Leavenworth will have three new inmates by this evening.
Unknowingly, they literally walked into a veritable trap from which there was no escape, unless they wanted to come out with guns blazing. I couldn't see Morelli taking the coward's way out on this. At least, it didn't come to a shootout. No damage. No injuries. Those two Washington Wankers are just amateurs and have no idea how deep in the shit they really are. And, that fucker Mancuso needed to keep his trap shut. Providential for us especially since we have it all on tape, both audio and visual evidence.
I looked at my team. Thiago, Rex and Miguel. Great guys. Solid soldiers who thoroughly earned their liberty and the satisfaction of knowing they had survived this FUBARed mission which had been manipulated by those three fuckwit traitors. They were grinning along with everybody else, enjoying being in the throng of the celebrations. Like me, this was also their final mission. It would have felt better to finish our final mission with a successful Mission Accomplished stamp across the file. However, to be honest, fortunately, we came out of that clusterfuck alive, not totally unscathed, but, yes, alive, despite every effort to interfere with its success. We survived. At least, Bernie, our rescue target, can now go back to living with his family and, hopefully, resume a new normal existence. He and his family will be offered counselling for their long and emotional ordeal, and, likely more intense therapy sessions for Bernie.
Tank was on the phone to our handler. I listened as he informed the General about the successful capture of all three traitors, affirming they were en route to Fort Leavenworth with a secure federal police escort. Tank confirmed that the General would get a full comprehensive report along with the video footage and audio evidence. The General was pleased to know we had Special Agent Boris Hartley coordinating with our teams. They had a good connection he admitted and he trusted him implicitly. He had in fact, especially recommended Boris to lead the Federal investigation, knowing he would work well with Rangeman. In the meantime, we watched on screen as a large flatbed truck had arrived to take their vehicles for further forensic evidence.
I was distracted by Stephanie as she looked up at me with an enquiring eye.
"You're not happy?"
"Hm. Happy is not the right word. Well, yes, pleased that this clusterfuck has finally come to an end and we can resume our lives as before. Hm. Satisfied. Yes, satisfied that we achieved a successful capture of all three traitorous conspirators."
"I sense a but in there."
I half snorted with a wry chuckle. Tank stood beside me, flanked by my mission team. They had the same curious expression on their faces.
"But, I was hoping that the fuckers would have somehow blurted out their plot, or divulged something more specific, admitting to their culpability."
"Aah! But, Ranger. Do I have a surprise for you, compliments from our hermano, Hector!" Tank announced with a devilish grin, waggling both his eyebrows.
The room settled down, curious and sensing the tone of our conversation.
Tank had Hector on screen, thanks to Cal and Zero who were grinning, like the cat that ate the canary. They knew something that we didn't.
"Report!" I barked.
Hector, and now Lester as well, were on screen, surrounded by Vince and Zip, Woody and Hal. They were all grinning, looking at Hector. Pride. Pride in spades.
"Ranger," Lester began," Our wonderful hermano here, followed the three fuckwits as they were taken to the secure van. While they were being handcuffed and shackled, Morelli let loose. He was in a furious rant, restricted and frustrated even more because he couldn't do his usual wild gesticulations. So funny. While they were shuffling towards the van he vented. Hector here captured it all! It was a sight to behold. He went all shades of red. Not a pretty sight. It's also on the outside feed that Rodriguez has tapped into."
Hector shrugged with modesty but then we saw that sinister grin of his, with a wicked glint in his eye.
"We copped an earful since we are just "thugs from Rangeman". Fucking idiot. Stephanie, Beautiful, Trenton's newest "thug" and actual "criminal" is gonna make your Mum so happy! Puts a whole new perspective on the Burg's attitude of their golden boy. That infamous Burg Grapevine is gonna go ballistic!"
Lester used the virtual air quotation marks for "thugs and criminals", Morelli's pet reference for Rangeman personnel. Amid the growls behind him, Hector then cued the feed and it appeared on the large screen. He waited, knowing we'd all be getting into position, ready for the action. At the same time, the outside feed gave us the big picture. Everyone in the room was riveted, poised for the vitriol to spout forth from the fucker's maw.
Red-faced and practically frothing at the mouth, yes, Morelli was livid and let rip. We listened as best we could. Some of us got it. He was talking so fast. Yelling hysterically. Some of the Rangeman guys were confused. Tank smirked and I grinned, nodding our heads. Perfect. Just perfect. Fucking priceless! Tank high-fived me. Justice will be served. Stephanie was grinning as I hugged her to my side.
When that finished, some puzzled faces looked at us.
"Okay. I give up!"
"I don't get it."
"What the fuck?!"
"What the hell did he say?"
This was met with a lot of confused nodding and shoulder shrugs, amid the knowing grins of those of us who understood.
"Steph? Can you clarify please? It seems a translation is required, but some of you probably can guess some of the key words. Spanish is similar in parts to Italian. But not all of you speak either or both languages. Morelli and his two traitorous co-conspirators are Italian." Tank explained, glancing expectantly at her laptop.
"Hector, mi hermano. Rewind."
Where Morelli couldn't gesticulate like usual with his hands and arms waving about wildly, his head and upper body were making up for the loss. Hector rewound the scene and nodded, a cue to Zero to split the screen into two. As Morelli's rant started, Stephanie was transcribing the text for us all to read on the other screen, as she typed it quickly on her laptop. Oh! Just brilliant. I couldn't stop smiling. Tank had a shit-eating grin on his face and was practically bouncing up and down on the spot with excitement and delight. Tank is displaying more emotions than ever before, what with the previous chuckles and smart ass remarks. Good to see this side of the usually stoic man, especially in the light of this clusterfuck.
I watched my guys as those who understood the first take thoroughly enjoyed the replay, now grinning with the rest of them as Stephanie translated. The context of his rant was quite predictable, but Stephanie didn't miss a beat.
"Jesus fucking Christ! You fucking idiot moron, Mancuso! Bastard! Why the fuck did you have to announce you were fucking Manoso? You just had to keep grandstanding yourself! Fucking asshole blowhard! We were doing fine, going under the radar. Get over it. We could be in the shit for this. Deep in the shit, because of you and your bloody big mouth! After all we did to get rid of him?! He's dead, you stupid fucker. Remember? Dead. We fixed that. You and Marco and I achieved what no one else was able to do. The mighty, magnificent, invincible fucking Manoso is dead because of us. Good riddance to bad rubbish. But then, you had to open your stupid fucking trap! All that hard work shot to fucking pieces! You may as well have declared it out loud or gotten a fucking sign writer to fly up and tell the whole fucking Tri-State area what we did. Lucky for you I'm handcuffed …"
With great satisfaction, we watched the rest of the video. The asshole growled furiously as he tried to lunge for Mancuso, obviously forgetting that his hands were handcuffed behind him for a reason. He did get a good headbutt in however, before he face-planted it. That was very satisfying. Blood spurted from his nose and possibly his mouth. Idiot. Two federal agents yanked him up, none too gently, shoving him inside the van to run the chains through the shackles and manacles. It took three of them to restrain him until they threatened him with a stun gun. Damn. Stun gunning him would have been so good. The leather harness-like restraints secured him safely in place.
Yes, that was very satisfying watching him lose his shit, spittle flying from his mouth as he berated his accomplice. Ragusto remained downcast and quiet. He was in shock. This was obviously not part of the plan.
We watched intently as Morelli suddenly saw Hector and Lester and the others watching their arrest, a mighty fall from grace of epic proportions. The fucking dickhead just didn't realise how deep in the shit he was. Perhaps he was in denial. Conceivably he thought he was untouchable with that cocky attitude. Pfft. Fuckwit.
"You fucking thugs had to be here. Didn't you? Fucking Rangeman thugs and criminals you are. What the hell are you doing here anyway?"
The sarcasm was dripping with the spittle and blood frothing from his mouth as he tried to wipe his mouth and nose against his shoulder. He still didn't get it. The penny hasn't dropped yet.
"Hunting. Hunting big game, or rather, … hm, small game." Hal remarked matter-of-factly.
Morelli was confused with Hal's calm cryptic reply. Vince added to it really well.
"Yeah. But frankly, second-rate game really. Meh."
The Washington Wankers said nothing. They succumbed to the shock. This was not the outcome they expected. They were visibly rattled. They allowed themselves to be chained and belted in place without any resistance.
"Why don't you fucking assholes just fuck off then!"
"What? And miss all the action?" Woody replied.
"Yeah. Great entertainment, I'd call it." Zip chuckled sardonically. "Nice face-plant by the way."
It was obvious he didn't have an immediate comeback. He just growled in frustration, his movements limited by the secure restraints. There was no way he could wipe his face, so he just had to deal with it. However, it was evident that he was embarrassed to be seen to be caught. He still had no idea that he was caught in a sting, a take-down orchestrated by Rangeman in liaison with the Feds. Until he saw the other agents congratulate our men. Realisation was a bitter pill to swallow. He cursed some more. He was not a happy chappy.
"Hey! Asshole! Morelli! News flash. Got some special news for you fuckers. The "mighty, magnificent and invincible Manoso" as you so well said, and his men, are all very much alive. You know, alive, as in not dead. Guess you fucked up in more ways than you'll ever know. Sucks to be you. I wonder how good you three will look in Leavenworth browns? Or will it be Gitmo orange? Whatever. Enjoy your ride to your new residence."
Lester really wanted them to know. The satisfied sneer on his face was very appropriate as he stood with his arms folded across his chest. We all felt that. Well said Lester.
Seeing the utter shock and disbelief on Morelli and the two Washington Wankers was priceless. Mancuso and Ragusto paled with that declaration and just about pissed themselves. Morelli desperately tried to slam down his cop face but he was beyond that, too far gone. Cocky as hell. Smug bastard. He was calling the bluff, but his eyes gave him away, as doubt and then fear flashed momentarily, before he mounted another round of verbal diarrhoea and vitriol.
"You got nothing! Nothing! Where's your evidence? You have shit proof, you asshole Spics!"
"WHOA!" resounded from everyone who heard that racial slur.
That's when Hector swaggered forward with that sinister grin, waving his phone camera at Morelli, waggling his eyebrows.
"Don't worry asshole. You cleared all that up for us," Lester assured him. "Oh. And FYI, your beloved wife, Mrs Lula Morelli, gave us plenty of documented evidence to complement your over-sharing just now."
Special Agent Boris Hartwell came up to our team and shook hands with each one, thanking them for their contribution and success in the capture of these traitors. He made sure to emphasise the word traitors.
Morelli's very audible growl of frustration was the last thing we heard from him as the doors to the van were closed and locked securely, with four guards inside. From the outside camera we saw Woody give Hector a congratulatory pat on the shoulders. Each of them gave each other fist bumps. I was proud of my men and nudged Tank, giving him a triple fist bump.
"And, the irony of all this? Morelli has divulged so much, more than Mancuso even did with his stupid impostor-ing. Hector captured it and we all witnessed it," Lester said proudly. "Vince translated for us, but I'm sure Beautiful, you got it all down. God, I love it when a plan comes together," he chuckled.
"At least he acknowledged your mighty, magnificent invincibility," Stephanie chuckled. "Morelli is not one who readily issues compliments. Ask me, I know from experience."
Tank congratulated the hunting party and told them to get something to eat and drink before making their way back to Rangeman.
"HOOAH!"
Bobby had been standing in the doorway, with a few of the men from the control room, and they were rapt. Watching that asshole Morelli lose his shit was the icing on the cake.
"Debrief in fifteen."
The light-hearted atmosphere was good to see, as they all spilled out to get some refreshments, take a bathroom break or just stretch their legs.
"Babe?"
"Are you happy now?" she grinned.
"Oh yeah! Very happy. Him losing his shit was pure gold especially with his rant at Mancuso."
"Ha ha! So ironic! Talk about the pot calling the kettle black," chuckled Tank.
Everyone gathered, smiling, for the debrief. Tank congratulated everyone involved and made acknowledgement to Thiago, Rex and Miguel, and me, now being able to resume our normal lives.
"HOOAH!"
"HOOAH!" was the cry when I announced that for the four of us, this was our final mission.
"I don't think Morelli had actually planned to be camping or hunting in the Poconos. I have a distinct feeling he was going to go solo after offing his accomplices. They are too much of a liability, especially that arrogant fucking asshole Mancuso. His mouthing off like he did was proof," I said, "but that remains as pure speculation."
"We know Morelli prefers to work alone," Stephanie added. "His work ethic at Trenton PD is proof of that, contrary to TPD policy. So, I have to agree with Ranger, it was inevitable. For Mancuso and Ragusto, their days were numbered. I agree, they were going to be obliterated, like collateral damage. Then Morelli would have been able to access their financial accounts since Lula had all the details, and run off into the sunset. Lula would also likely have been disappeared, if he had his way. Never gonna happen."
"Such a pity, you know," Cal remarked in mock regret. "We could have added a double premeditated murder to his long list of charges."
"Don't worry," Tank assured, "they're going to be incarcerated for multiple federal charges including treason, espionage, conspiracy and conspiring for attempted murder, and the Secrets Act as well as a raft of serious breaches of state laws. Court martials come first, since he served in the navy. The list is most comprehensive. Lula Morelli has been a veritable fount of knowledge with all the evidence and information on their financial criminal dealings. Ooh yeah. They are going down, all four of them."
Tank summed up the days events and dismissed everyone.
Considering the circumstances and the FUBAR mission, the General agreed to process our official exit without delay. None of us was re-signing. Tank and I had already discussed the option for my three team members as potential Rangeman material. The core team will confer tomorrow morning when Lester returns this evening. Tank agreed. I thought this was probably better to have a separate conversation with them. In the meantime, we offered them accommodation on the fourth floor for the night.
I grabbed Stephanie's hand and pulled her close to me, running my fingers through her curly hair.
"C'mon. We have some unfinished business, Babe."
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TBC
Got to love it when plans come together and finally fall into place for an epic take down.
I dedicate this chapter to my dear friend Margaret. She would have LOVED Morelli's very undignified dummy spit.