Chapter 12

We reached the door to Ranger's office. I had almost managed to calm myself down, when he spun around and grasped me by the shoulders. He gazed at me a moment before planting a gentle kiss on my lips.

We will finish this later, Steph.

I just stared at him. Oh yeah, I silently agreed, as long as I didn't spontaneously combust before then.

Ranger turned back and unlocked the door. It swung open to reveal Tank and Lester standing amidst a vast array of disguise paraphernalia. Ranger's once almost bare desk held black hair dye, a pair of scissors and some ribbons. Scattered around the floor were several different outfits. From what I could see Ranger's disguise looked pretty boring. I saw t-shirts, blue jeans, a denim jacket, and a couple of long sleeve henleys. Those are the clothes that didn't just scream hippie to me, so I assumed they were for him. For me, it looked like Lester had a field day. I saw several long broomstick style skirts, a few solid colored tank tops, some tie-die t-shirts, and shorts. I wasn't too sure about the skirts, but I probably could live with the shirts and shorts.

I looked up from the clothes to see Lester smirking at me. Nothing good could possibly come of that, I thought, and turned to leave. The man in black was blocking my escape.

Where are you going? Ranger asked. Since he wasn't smirking, I decided to answer.

I don't think you really need me for this. I'll just go home.

Ranger shook his head. Trust me, Babe, I need you.

Be still my heart. Wait he's talking about finding Velasquez, shouldn't get too excited.

Ranger took my elbow and steered me over to the desk. Tank was sitting in a chair by the desk reading the instructions for the hair dye. This did not look good.

Tank's the hair guy. Ranger pushed down on my shoulders, so I sat in the chair in front of Tank. I looked up at Ranger.

What's wrong with my hair?Just need to change the color. Don't worry, it's not permanent. He tucked my hair behind my ears and sauntered over to check out his clothes selection. I watched him as he spoke to Lester and gathered some clothes together. Then he disappeared into the bathroom.

I redirected my attention to Tank, aka, the hair guy. He was now shaking the bottle of hair dye together. I had a really bad feeling he didn't know what he was doing.

I raised my eyebrows at him. What are you planning on doing with that?

Tank wiggled the bottle of dye at me. This is for you.All part of the disguise.Of course. Stupid question.

Tank was concentrating on his shaking. Once he decided he had mixed the dye enough he had me lean back and started squirting it on my hair. It was a little cold, but not too bad. He squished the dye around for a while. I kept my eyes closed, and wondered why he hadn't given me a cloth or towel to catch the drips.

Now we wait. he said. Bet it said how long in the directions, but I was too busy keeping my head back to worry about it. I bet this was going to make all sorts of black spots on the carpet.

You've never done this before, have you? I asked.

What makes you say that?No reason. I said hurriedly. Probably wasn't a good idea to offend the person in charge of my hair color.

Don't worry. Easy as pie, he reassured me.

I didn't dare open my eyes, for fear of being blinded by dripping hair dye, but I could have sworn he was grinning. The room got quiet, and I sat with my head back forever. Maybe I dozed off, because the next thing I knew my scalp felt like it was on fire.

No reply. Nothing. Where did he go? Stupid man, he must not have gotten to the rinsing part of the directions. Even I knew you should rinse out the dye before it causes pain. I groped my way to the bathroom, found the sink and stuck my head under the faucet, turning on both taps full blast. I swore I would never ever let anyone but Mr. Alexander near me with hair dye again.

After a few minutes, my head started feeling normal again, so I turned off the water and tried to find a towel. My fingers brushed against something hanging from a towel rack. It didn't feel like a towel, but by this point I didn't much care, as long as it would keep water from dripping down my back. I covered my head and flipped my head up, coming face to face with myself in the mirror.

What a sight! Tank had let hair dye drip all over. I had black streaks running down my face and neck. My towel turned out to be Ranger's discarded black t-shirt.

I heard a deep chuckle behind me and looked to see Ranger grinning at me in the mirror. Damn! He came closer, and reached under the sink, and produced a towel. He took his shirt out of my hair and replaced it with the giant towel. He then produced a washcloth and reached around me to wet it in the sink. He was still smiling when I turned to look at him.
Tank may not have been the best choice for a dye man. he said, handing me the washcloth. I quickly washed my face and neck.

Yeah. I think he needs to go back to beauty school, I agreed. I looked at Ranger and noticed his hair was cut short. He was wearing a white t-shirt, faded blue jeans, and brown cowboy boots. Hmm, cowboy Ranger?

Do you get a hat, too? I asked. He looked different all right. I still don't think he'd have any trouble making women walk into walls, though.

No hat.Where do you hide your guns? This outfit looked entirely too form fitting to conceal any weapons.

Ranger grinned. Want to try to find them?
Dammit, I was blushing again. He chuckled.

Lester's got your clothes ready to try on. I can't wait to see how you look. He turned and was gone.

I checked that all the black streaks were gone before I came out of the bathroom. I threw my shoulders back and strode out to confront the disguise master.

Looking good, Steph, Lester said, eying my newly midnight black wet hair. I hadn't been able to find a brush, so my hair was doing it's natural look of sticking out every which way. I stuck my tongue out at him to acknowledge his remark.

Ranger said I should try these on, I said waving my hand at the clothes.

Lester handed me a skirt and tank combo. He also produced a brush and gave it to me with a grin. You might need this, too.

I took the brush with a muttered thanks, and went back into the bathroom to change.

I spent a few minutes putting on the bright blue tank top and floral print broomstick skirt. It didn't look too bad, but it needed something, like giant hoop earrings. Trust a man not to think of accessories. I finally got my hair in some semblance of order. At least it looked curly as opposed to clown style. I went back out to the main office to model my hippie look.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the door was Tank sitting back at the desk like he hadn't done anything wrong. I narrowed my eyes, and stalked over to him.

Where were you? I asked.

Brilliant answer, Tank.

When it was time to rinse out the dye.

Tank glanced around the room, looking uncomfortable. He was probably plotting his escape. As well he should be.

I didn't know you had to rinse it out.

I stared at him. How on earth could he not know? He had been reading the directions, right? I was still trying to come up with an appropriately scathing response, since I probably couldn't beat him up, when a large hand landed on my shoulder.

Ranger said. I turned around to look at him. He gave me the once over, his eyes traveling up and down my body, stopping to look into my eyes. The corners of his mouth were upturned in a small smile. Suits you.

He turned to Tank and Lester, who were both now standing by the desk.

We need to go over the plan.Lester has placed Velasquez working at a bookstore in Boulder. We'll fly into Denver tonight and drive into Boulder. We got a hotel rooms for you and Steph at the Break Inn on Pearl Street. Lester and I are staying at a different hotel, Tank said.

Lester was trying to keep a straight face. He was doing a good job, until I started giggling. That's when he lost it.
You're putting the boss in some place called the break in? Lester guffawed.
It was the closest we could get to the bookstore, Tank explained patiently. He didn't look amused. Poor man had no sense of humor, I thought. I managed to get my giggling under control, and looked at Ranger. Ranger merely raised an eyebrow and Lester sobered.

Just remember, you're Bruce Wayne and Linda Carter until this is over. Tank said with a smile. Hmm, maybe he had a sense of humor after all.

We arrived at the airport a short while later. As we approached, I wondered how Ranger was going to get past security with his mini-arsenal. I couldn't imagine him leaving home without them.

I was surprised when the security guard waved our vehicle through a gate. We pulled up to a hangar and made our way to a small jet. Impressive.

What's this? I asked.

A plane, Ranger said.

Smart ass.

Ranger grinned. It's our company plane. Much easier to travel this way.

I nodded. Guess that took care of the traveling with guns issue. I grabbed some bags and followed Tank and Lester up the steps to the door. I stopped just inside the cabin to look around. It didn't look like any airplane I'd ever been on. It was set up to look like a living room. There were two very plush gray couches facing each other. A glass table was positioned between them. Off to one side there was a television and stereo set up. Looked like we were traveling in style.

I must have stood gaping for too long, because Ranger nudged me with his elbow.

Got to keep moving, Babe.

I walked into the cabin, and watched apprehensively as Tank and Lester made their way into the cockpit.

Tell me he's a better pilot than he is a hairdresser.

Ranger chuckled. Much better.

I helped Ranger situate all the bags, and flopped on one of the couches.

What is there to do here? I asked. Flying wasn't really my favorite pastime, at least not in airplanes. I was more the jumping off the roof kind of person. I liked to be in control of where I was going. That just wasn't possible sitting on an airplane.

Ranger settled down beside me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, drawing me closer to him. I leaned into his chest enjoying the feeling of security he gave me. No relationship, no smemationship, I thought. At least I could enjoy being close to him for now.

We could talk. I think there are a few things we should straighten out.

Gulp.