Note-- I appologise for this being such a long chapter, I just had a lot to say and couldn't find a breaking point. Not that you mind, he he he. I realize that I'm going to get a lot of feedback with this chapter, but no Flames please! That's all I can say without spoiling it all. Esentrik0
I sat on the couch for a while, wraped tightly in the sheet. The ice cream balanced between my knees and one arm poked out of the blanket, weilding a spoon. I was shaking uncontrollably and it made it almost impossible to pry the lid off the ice cream, but I managed to do it. The ice cream was frozen solid and my arms were too weak to force it out so I let it sit on the coffee table and melt alittle.
I filpped through all the channels. Nothing interested me. I turned it off and focused my attention down the hall, behind the door Tank and Ranger had disappeared behind.
Ranger took a deep breath. It had been the fourth deep breath in the last ten minutes. Tank had turned to look at his feet.
"We'll stay here tonight." Ranger finally decided.
"I'll put a heavy watch on the doors." Tank pulled out his cell phone and punched something in on speed dial.
The conversation was short. Someone was on their way to replace the window and get the mess cleaned up. Security was upped and someone was to watch the 7th floor apartment tonight.
"You want me to stay?" Tank asked, sliding the phone back into his pocket.
"Everything's fine now." Ranger told him. That's what he had been telling himself.
The door to the room opened and Ranger stepped out. He smiled weakly at me, and continued on to the door. He rolled the locks and then ambled over to a small closet that was apart of the entertainment center. The doors pulled out to reveal a whole collection of VHS and DVD tapes.
He carefully selected two and turned to me. He held one in each hand. "Which one?"
I squinted to see better. He had an old VHS copy of Jurassic Park in one hand and Tombstone in the other. I can't remember the last time I had seen either. Come to think of it, had I ever seen Tombstone?
"I don't care." I told him.
"Defenately Tombstone, bombshell." Tank said from behind me.
"To tell you the truth, I won't be awake long enough to see the previews."
Ranger put Tombstone back. "What'd you do that for man?"
They exchanged looks, and Tank left without saying another word.
The movie started and I stayed awake longer then I had thought. I dozed off during the first few minutes, about the time that Dr. Grant was invited to go to the park. I woke up just in time to catch the sick Stegosaurus. I looked around the room, a bit disoriented. The ice cream was gone, and Ranger was no where in sight.
He had laid me on my side, and wraped me in the sheets so tight I couldn't move. Wiggling meself free, I sat up and noticed the room was being lit by one single candle. I pushed off of the couch and walked around. My ice cream spoon was sitting in the sink, but still no Ranger. Making my way down the hall, I saw that his door was closed. I reached for the handle, but realized it wasn't the best thing to do. I heard talking on the other side of the door. He was speaking spanish. The spanish whined down into english again.
"Don't wait up for me. See ya." He chuckled and I heard the phone get put back into place.
I scurried back to the couch and threw the sheet back over me. I intently watched the T-rex break the electrical fence. Ranger returned a few minutes later.
"How long you been up?" He asked
"A minute or two, why?" I rubbed my eyes to emphasis my sleepyness.
"Just wondering."
Ranger wraped his arm around me and pulled me closer. He fell silent and watched the movie. I tried to do the same, but my only thoughs were on Joe and Junkman.
Was I not good enough for Joe? All he ever wanted was sex. I'd wake up alone, after he'd gone off to work. Hell, he might not have been going to work that early. Maybe I was just an easy lay. That got me thinking of Dickie and how our marrige had ended the same way, almost. I had caught Dickie, someone else caught Joe.
More questions filled my head. Who caught Joe? Clearly Ranger knew something, and I suspected he had found out after talking to my dad. Where my dad got the information could have been a number of places. Grandma Mazur came home with ridiculous stories all the time. If it was Grandma, she'd had called me first thing she found out. Dad drove a cab. That was his only other resource.
Last, Junkman. Joe sold me out. As far as I knew, none of the Slayers had followed me, and Norman had no idea that I was staying up here. How entirely safe was this place. It is not a good thing when you have to question your safety while in Ranger's arms.
"Babe?" Ranger's question brought me back to reality.
The movie had been shut off. Tears rolled down my cheeks, and stains of were a few had hit on Ranger's shirt. I whiped my nose with the back of my hand and tried to calm down alittle. The room was prety much dark, with the exception of the candle
"Did you know about Joe?" I asked.
"Not long enough to act on it. I was going to wait untill you were sound asleep, and I was going to beat the snot out of him." Ranger placed a finger under my chin and knocked it upward on his chest. "I should have told you."
"Was I not good enough for him?"
"Babe..." Ranger started, but couldn't find the right words.
"Twice now, I have been...been..."I cried harder, and Ranger nodded his head understandingly.
"Don't worry about Morelli right now Babe. You have bigger problems right now." He looked into my eyes, and I was sure I was melting.
I nodded into his chest and got myself together again. He was right. I needed to get rid of Junkman. We sat there on that couch for awhile, not daring to say another word. The movements of his chest as he breathed rocked me to sleep.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I awoke to the familiar hum of tires on blacktop. I opened an eye and looked out the passenger window. Trees and highway signs flew past me. Soft music poured out of the speakers. Ranger was in the seat next to me, I could feel him. I looked at him, and for once, he took his eyes off the road to glance in my direction. Turning back to driving, he asked. "Morning."
It was still dark out. The occational streetlight caught Ranger's SWAT watch, sending bright lights into my eyes. The clock on the console told me it was almost three in the morning.
"Mmmmm. You better not be taking me to one of your safe houses." I moaned and looked out the window again.
"I thought about it." Ranger said.
"Where are we going then?" I straightened in my seat.
"You'll see." He glanced at me through the rear view mirror.
I heard yankee doodle playing in the distance. I knew the caller. I had nothing to say to the rat.
Ranger lifted a hand off the steering wheel, and dug into his cargo pocket. He extracted my phone and shoved it into the glove compartment. He knew the caller, too.
"Should I?" I asked, and took the phone out.
"Do you want to?" He asked.
I had to think. I wanted to figure out why Joe had done what he did. I wanted to hear it from him. But then again, he'd lied once, he could do it again. Joeseph Morelli had the contacts to back him up too. I jumped as the phone rang a second time.
My heart jumped when I hit the little green button.
"What?" I said.
"You ok, Cupcake?" Joe asked.
"What would make you think that I'm not?" Anger was building in my blood.
"You didn't answer the first time, and I heard you were shot at." Joe sounded relieved that I had answered. "Where are you now anyway?"
"Since when have you cared how I'm doing Joe?" I could feel my ears turning all shades of red.
Joe was breathing heavily on the other side of the line. I waited for an answer. Finally, I couldn't help myself. "You can't answer that, can you?"
Ranger's arm snaked infront of me and grabed the phone. I let him take it easilly, not trusting myself with it anymore. He turned it off and replaced it into the glove box.
"Might be best if you not see him first?" Ranger said with a grin.
I stabbed him in the shoulder all in fun. He reached over and pulled my shirt out of the seat belt, and began running just his fingertips on my belly. My body shuddered to attention, trying not to laugh. Since when had he known I was tickilish? After a minute or so of pure torture, I exploded in laughter and Ranger returned his hand to the wheel. "Don't play that game with me Babe. I always win."
No sense arguing with that. I heard yankee doodle once more, and felt Ranger's muscles tense. Neither of us was confident enough to answer. I leaned back against the head rest and fell asleep.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I woke up in a bed. Not my bed, not Ranger's apartment bed, and certainly not Joe's. I was sprawled out on my stomach, covered by a heavy blanket. One hand was supporting my head, the other was streached above me. I lifted my head and looked around. I was a bit disoriented. The heavy blanket moved, and I realized it was Ranger.
The room I was in was small. We were asleep on a full size matress, covered in maroon sheets. The walls were a matching color, with the exception of the accent wall, which had been painted a cream color. It was all very masculine. A wooden dresser was pushed against one side, the top cluttered with odd objects. A cheep, plastic alarm clock was on the side table just beside my head.
It was a little past five. I grabed the clock with my free hand and stared at it agan. Ranger moved the hand he had at the back of my neck, and took the clock out of my hand. He put it back onto the table and rolled off of the bed. "Babe, just asking, are you wearing my underwear?" There was a slight amusement to his voice, like a five-year old waking up on his birthday.
"Maybe."
"I'm not going to ask. Get up." He said, walking around the bed and taping me on the head.
"Why?" I moaned and looked up at him.
"I have a surprise." He sliped a shirt over his head and cracked the door open.
He stuck his head out, and then back in. He backed up against the wall and let out a sigh of relief. What he was looking for, I didn't really want to know. He had his share of bad secrets. One I wish I hadn't known.
"What kind of surprise?" I leaned on my elbow and looked at him.
"A good one." He said, and did the door routine again.
Only this time, he slipped out and closed the door behind him. I drug myself out of the warm bed, not knowing why. I found my laundry basket in the corner of the room, on a magenta lazy-boy chair. I extracted my Rangers jersey and my usual pair of jeans. After changing into a clean pair clothing, I followed Ranger.
Outside the door was a hallway. There was a door at the end of the hallway, and two doors leading off to the side. I assumed one was a bathroom, and the other two were bedrooms. A staircase wound down across the hall from the room I had slept in. Breakfast was cooking from downstairs. Coffee and toast aromas filed up the steps. I took the steps two at a time until I was at the bottom. A living room, similar to the one my parents lived in. A tan sectional infront of a tv. The television wasn't huge, but it was bigger than the one in my apartment. A dual VHS/DVD player and a cable box were stacked together beside the tv stand. Pictures were strew around, all of Ranger's relatives.
The living room broke off into the dining room. Ranger was sitting at the table, spreading some health gunk on a bagel. Sitting across from him was a small girl, who looked so much like him, I thought it was his daughter. Ranger looked at me and smiled. The child followed his eyes and turned to face me.
"Who are you?" She asked politely, her pupils the size of quarters.
I looked at Ranger.
"I'm a friend of Ranger's." I said, taking my first step into the dining room.
"Uncle Ranger has a girlfriend!" She yelled, and squealed her way into the kitchen.
"Anything I should know?" I asked once she had left, taking a seat next to his.
"They're as nuts as you're family." He said with a smile, and turned in time to catch two little heads pop out of the door.
"How many are there?" I said in a stage whisper.
"My family? Thoughs are my nieces Katie and Juilan. My brother got divorced and moved back in. You can't miss Robbie. My father probably won't notice you're here. . My mother will probably be the first one out here to investigate." He explained.
"No crazy grandmothers?"
"Crazy grandmother doesn't wake up till eight. Truth be told, they're unhumanly like your family" He said and leaned in.
He brushed his lips against my nose, and breathed into my face. His lips pressed against mine at the same time, the swinging kitchen door burst open. He pulled the kiss into a smile, and pulled back. Someone, no doubtedly his mother, came bustling in with a plate of pancakes.
"So it's true." She stood back and looked her son over, from head to toe, with her ands on her hips. "You could have told me when you called. I'd have put out fresh towels and sheets."
"I didn't mention Steph because I knew you'd wait up for us. I really, really don't want to talk about it right now." He helped himself to a pancake.
"Ricardo Carlos Manoso! Are you ashamed of having your girlfriend meet your family?" She sounded concerned.
"Ma..." He looked up at her.
She began to ramble off in spanish, and Ranger stood up and whisked her off to the kitchen. He returned a few seconds later with a bottle of syrup.
"What was that all about? I don't speak spanish." Ok, so I could ask for a beer but that wasn't the point.
"Something about me eloping, having children, and my wife never knowing my parents." He pulled himself back to the table.
"So...what are your plans for today?" I asked, drowning my pancakes in syrup.
He watched me in disbelief. "Ranger?"
"I was planing to pop a cap up Joe Morelli's ass. You wanna come?" The line itself sounded like a joke, but his face told me otherwise.
"Don't hurt him. I wan't him to die a long and lonely life." I pleaded.
"How bout Vinnie. I feel like making Vinnie squirm." He placed his arms behind his head and streached.
"Fun, but no. He's family, weither I like it or not." I chewed on my pancakes.
Damn. The whole Manoso family could cook. And best of all, this isn't rabbit food!
"You know, you really ought to run." He said, pouring himself a glass of milk.
I shot him a look that said 'no way'. "Its on my list of things to do."
"What is that list?"
"Learn to fly, get married, learn to cook, have children..." I trailed off, not thinking of what I said.
"I could help you with some of them." He said with a smirk, and turned to see his mother back into the door carrying another heavy plate.
In the other room, a lock was thrown and the door was opened. A elderly cuban man hobbled in, holding the Thursday paper. He looked at me, then at Ranger and nodded. Ranger returned in a smile, and said something in spanish. His father answered back, and then smiled at me.
My heart almost jumped out of my chest. He had noticed my presince. Ranger had said that was a good thing, but Ranger's idea of good things sometimes was grey of my idea. I smled politley and nibbled at the rest of my pancakes. I glanced a few times at Ranger, and he was trying not to smile every time.
Two little heads bobbled out of the doorway, followed by a bigger one. Ranger was right, his brother wasn't hard to miss. He wasn't as big or as tall as Ranger, but he had the same face. With the exception of the crude facial hair, they would have been twins. The only difference was the hair. Robbie had a hair cut almost like Morelli's. He looked at me, the same way everyone else had, taking it all in.
After a minute past, he shook his head, blinked and took a seat across from me. Conversation was short. A small introduction and then early morning babble, directed to the entire table. Light footsteps danced down the stairs, and a short little cuban woman came into the room. I looked past Ranger at the wall clock. 8:03.
She was as thin as my Grandma Mazur, and was dressed head to toe in pink pony pj's . I recall buying one almost like that for my niece Mary Alice.
"Morning abuella." Ranger said cheerfully.
She smiled sweetle, looking at him first, and then at me. "Morning Rico. Who might this young one with you be?"
"Stephanie Plum." I said, extending my arm.
She took it and shook it gently. I looked into her eyes and saw my own grandmother in there. Strange how that worked.
"Very nice to meet you." She nooded aprovingly and took the last open seat.
She looked at all the sullen faces around the table. Everyone, staring in confused amusement. Ranger got up before I could sit back down and told everyone we were off to work. He led me back up the stairs and twisted the nob on the door. He shut it carefully, hearing it seal and then sliding the locks. He turned over to the corner of the room and hit a knee. I had made a b-line for the bed, and now sat, trying to look around him.
Ranger pulled away the carpet of the corner, and pulled out a small plank of wood. He reached his hand in, and pulled out a shoe box. It had been taped and had writing all over it. He sat on the bed next to me, and placed the box between us. Carefully lifting the lid, we both peered inside.
The box had belonged to a little boy. It was cluttered with things little boys had. Ranger pulled out a little Bronco, the black paint still intact. A plastic baggie of notes was next, followed by more toy cars, all modeling ones parked in Ranger's garrage.
He quickly found what he was looking for. A small steel pipe, bended at an odd angle with two clips and a rubber stopper. We were both facing each other, leaning on one elbow. I looked up at the same time he did. "Door Stopper." He said.
He rolled off the bed and cliped the thing on the door trim. It streached then nessesary two inches, and pushed against the door, right at the middle hinge. I remember how they worked, I had had one like it when I was a kid. Only mine was plastic, and Valerie was menstral. It snaped in two, and left me with a raging bull.
He returned and fiddled with the box some more, he face reminiscing of all the memories. Each object was turned over in his hand, then tossed onto the pillow beside us.
A little plastic army dude, a small and worn out swiss knife, a rotten bullet, and a few little plastic action figures. I looked at them, not with the same expression as his, but thinking that all of these little toys had an impact on his feelings. Each one with a history. This told more about his child hood than Ranger himself had.
"God. It's been forever since I was back here." He said, pulling out another army guy. He rolled onto his back and examined it. He had the dumbfounded smile on his face that was generally seen on the face of a child getting his first A on his report card.
"I never imagined you playing with army men." He turned his head and looked at me, the smile still in place.
"I did. I spent all my time, in my room, playing with these guys." He nodded and turned back to the toy. He fliped it over in his fingers and looked at the base. "This was Tank's guy."
"What?" Curiosity filled my actions, and I leaned over, resting my head on his chest to look.
Sure enough, TANK was etched into the bottom of the plastic. It had the carved look to it, the edges unclean and crossed.
"He was my only friend for a long time." Ranger's voice was even. "We'd go down to the park everyday after dinner and have make believe battles. We'd use raw luck and stragey, and the winner got to take one of the other's men."
I picked up a few green men from the pile and examined them. Two had ROB engraved on the bottom, one more of Tanks, and the fourth one had KENT scratched in. I put the others down and looked at Kent's. I never heard of Kent. Ranger never mentioned him. I was about to ask, and Ranger put down the one he had been playing with, and took the one out of my hand.
"Kent." He said quietly.
"Who's..." I began. Ranger put his finger to my lip to quiet me, and began to explain again. "Kent was Tanks younger brother. Same age as Robert, same classes, and with me and Tank being so close, they were buds too. Kent joined the force with Tank and I, and he was involved with a trerrible bombing."
I knew the rest of that story, and that was the reason why I never knew Kent.