These characters are not my creation and I promise to give them back to Janet in 1 piece.
Thanks for the reviews, you're too kind!
14.
I started walking to my car with Tank and Bobby in tow, or at least where I thought I parked my car. My car wasn't where I thought I left it. Weird.
I walked up and down isles, punching the panic button on my car remote. I didn't hear my alarm beeping. Okay, I was starting to get freak out.
"I swear I left my car right here." I told Tank. Tank and Bobby spread out to look for the car further in the lot.
We met back in front of Macy's ten minutes later. "Looks like someone snatched your car, Stephanie." Bobby told me.
"I can't believe this is happening to me." I started to feel the first twinges of panic. "Two hundred cars parked in this stupid freaking lot and they have to steal my freaking car." I rubbed my forehead, trying to rub away the headache I could feel coming on. "I just bought that car. The ink is barely dry on the title."
Tank put in a call to the command center. "Can we get a 20 on Stephanie's car?" He turned to me. "We're tracking your car as we speak."
Relief washed over me. Thank God for GPS. I followed the guys to a black SUV and they beeped me in. A few minutes later Tank received a call. It was a short conversation.
"Yo." About three seconds of conversation at the other end. "Got it." And then Tank disconnected. All of the Range men spoke like that. I wonder if it was part of their Rangeman training. There must be a chapter in the handbook on Merry Men phone etiquette.
Tank turned to me. "We have an address." With that, he started the car and headed to get my car back. I was psyched. I pictured us rolling up to a chop shop and Tank and Bobby busting in like SWAT and beating up the guy who stole my car.
Just when I thought my car karma was in the upswing. I contemplated if I was being punished for some misdeeds in a past life. I must have been really evil in a previous life to have this many cars destroyed.
We were heading down Route 1 and Bobby said "We're getting close."
Tank slowed down and I peered over the windshield to see where we were. I slapped myself on the forehead. "Oh my God." The men exchanged puzzled looks. We were stopped in front of the used car lot where I had traded my old car in. "I didn't even think to take the GPS tracking off when I traded in my car."
The men looked back at me and smiled. Bobby got out of the car and returned a few minutes later with a small black box, which I guessed, was the tracking unit. He threw it to the back of the SUV and we took off.
My cell phone started ringing to the tune of the Superman theme song. That ringer was reserved for one person, and on person only. "Yo." I answered.
"Did the guys retrieve your car yet?" Ranger asked.
"Not exactly. I bought a new car yesterday, so the GPS led us to my old car."
"Babe, you should have told me. Now we have no way to track your car."
"I didn't even think about it. Every other time the GPS just mysteriously appears."
"Babe." He sighed. "Come back to the office and you can use one of my cars."
I disconnected and told Tank to take me back to the office. It was rush hour now and cars were moving at a snails pace. Tank and Bobby seemed perfectly content to sit in silence, but I wasn't. The car was too quiet for comfort so I tried to start a conversation.
"You guys must hate getting assigned to me."
Bobby smiled and looked back. "It's not so bad." His smile got wider. "We get combat pay, and there's always a chance that something will get blown up."
"Combat pay?" I asked.
"We get paid extra to go on assignments with you, on account of how it's more dangerous than our normal assignments." He laughed. "It was part of contract negotiations this year."
I made a grimace. Tank added, "We like going on assignment with you. We're used to dealing with junkies and addicts. You keep things exciting."
I guess that's one way to look at my ability to attract stalkers. "I guess that's your idea of fun, then."
"Our idea of fun on the job, at least. We know how to have a good time outside of the job, though. We can't exist like Ranger. Ranger is the job." Bobby said.
I had a hard time imagining the Merry Men kicking back at a bar. "So what do you do for fun?" I asked.
"Normal stuff. Drink beer and watch sports. Some of the Rangeman guys get together for a poker game once a week." Bobby looked at me through the rear view mirror. "You should come check it out."
"You are a Rangeman employee after all." Tank added.
"I don't know if it's such a good idea. After what happened this weekend and everything…" Not to mention I sucked at playing poker.
Tank laughed out loud. "You don't have anything to be embarrassed about. Your stories can't compare to some of the other guys'." He chuckled to himself. "And you don't even want to know how Woody got his nickname. No one will ever top Woody."
Bobby turned around and smiled at me. "Come on. I promise we won't be too scary."
We pulled up in front of the Rangeman building. "Okay. It might be fun." And I guess it would be good to bond with some of the guys who had saved my life on occasion.
"We meet tonight at 8. Hal's apartment, 403." Bobby looked back at me before I jumped out of the car. "And don't worry. We don't bite."
I sure hope not.
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Fifteen minutes later I was on the fourth floor. Hal called apartment 403 home. I stepped in front of the door and listened to the rap music seeping through the door cracks and lightly shaking the floor boards. I knocked lightly and waited in nervous anticipation. Hal answered the door and a goofy grin filled his face when our eyes met.
I gave him a big smile back and a finger wave. He threw a strong arm around my shoulder and led me into the living room. "Look what the cat dragged in." He told the room.
Bobby and Ram looked up from the video game they were playing and nodded to me. I nodded back. Tank and Lester were playing cards at the dining room table.
The apartments on the fourth floor were all furnished with the same furniture, but Hal had added his own personal touches. He had posters of football and basketball heroes on the wall and he had a statue of buddah on an end table in the living room. He also had a small bookcase that held a few books and CD's.
Hal disappeared into the kitchen and came back with two bottles of beer. He handed one to me and motioned me to sit down at the table.
"I didn't know if you were going to show." said Tank.
"And miss a chance to hang out with the Rangeman crew?" I smiled at them and they all smiled back.
From the looks of the jackpot in the middle of the table, they were already into a game of poker and it looked like Hal was winning. And, gulp, it also looked like they were playing with real money. I don't know what I thought they would bet for, marbles maybe. But the game seemed a lot scarier now that we were playing for real money. I took a large swig of beer.
They finished their hand and dealt me in on the next one. The conversation consisted mostly of sports. I plopped a twenty dollar bill down in the middle of the table in exchange for two poker chips. This was not going to get me very far.
The cards were dealt and I looked at my hand. I had the ten, Jack, and King of diamonds, along with two other low cards. I was very excited by the prospect of having a royal flush and put my low cards down. I tried to keep in my excitement while picking up the two new cards. My inner Stephanie was jumping for joy when I saw the cards. They were the Queen and the Ace of diamonds.
I put my remaining chip out and Lester and Eddie folded. Tank and Hal put two chips in, so I pulled out another twenty and put out those chips. Hal folded, but Tank held fast. I looked at him and his face was totally blank, no way of telling if he was bluffing or not. When we finally laid our cards down, Tank revealed that he was indeed bluffing. I gathered the chips and put them into my pile.
This might not be so bad.
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By the time the pizza arrived, I only had a few chips left. Hal set the pizzas down on the table and everyone dug in. We resumed playing after the last of the pizza had disappeared. I liked eating with the guys. It was nice to be around people who could eat more than me. Their appetites made mine look healthy.
We resumed playing a few minutes later, with Bobby taking Lester's place at the table. Lester went into the kitchen and came out with a bottle of dark alcohol and a few cans of Red Bull. He mixed the liquid together into glasses and started passing around the table. Eddie and Hal refused. They were scheduled for the night shift tonight. When the drink got to me I gave a polite, "No thanks."
"You're playing with the big boys, now Stephanie. Can't you handle your alcohol?" Lester asked. This got laughs all around.
I couldn't let down a challenge so I took the drink and took a big gulp. It ran down my throat like fire. "What is this?"
"Jagerbomb." Cool name, but it still didn't explain much. "Jagermeister and Red Bull." Lethal combination. A few more of these and I wouldn't be able to remember my name.
After the next hand I was out and forty bucks in the hole.
I sighed. "I don't know what happened. I started off doing so well."
Bobby and Lester smiled deviously at each other. "Did I miss something?" I asked, looking around at their sheepish faces.
Eddie explained, "You don't have a very good poker face."
Serves me right for playing with a bunch of ex-Army guys. I tried really hard to keep a straight face, so I couldn't understand what they saw. The Rangeman handbook must also have a chapter on mind reading.
"What gave me away?"
"Your left eye twitches when you have a bad hand." Tank explained. "And you play with your hair when you have a good hand."
"I do?" I asked as I realized I had been playing with my hair at that moment. I rolled my eyes.
Ram and Hal excused themselves to go up to the office. I looked at my watch and realized it was almost 10. Just when I was about to make a move to leave, Lester refilled my glass. Another challenge.
