Chapter 12
"Are you alright, Darlin'?" Woody asked.
"I'm not sure," I replied as I climbed from the bed. Cal, Zip, Bobby, Ram and Ranger had been gone for seven months. I was concerned about them. Something was wrong, and I could feel it deep inside my bones. "Woody, get Hector, Ella and Tank to meet us at the hospital." It was twenty-six days early, but I knew I was in labour.
"Darlin', is Daniella coming today?"
"It feels like she is," I said, pulling his shirt over my body. I didn't feel like pulling on anything else. His shirt fell to mid-thigh, covering me enough to get to the hospital. I only had to worry about flashing people when I got out of the SUV.
Woody changed Casey's diaper and clothes. He grabbed the bag I had packed for Casey and the cooler bag in the fridge. "Darlin', did you think our daughter was coming soon? You have Casey's bottles and food packed," Woody shouted from the kitchen.
"One should always be prepared," I groaned through a contraction. "Hang on, Casey." He held tight as I carried him to the car seat to buckle him in. "Good boy." Casey smiled as I got him ready to leave. "You're going to stay with uncle Hector and Abuela Ella." I breathed through the next contraction. The contractions were three minutes apart and lasted nearly two.
Like her older brother, Dani was impatient. Woody placed the bags in the back of the SUV. He carried Casey's seat as he guided me to the car. After snapping the carrier into the base, Woody helped me climb into the passenger seat.
My husband drove too fast on the snow-covered roads, but he didn't want me to give birth in the car. Hector and Ella weren't the only people to meet us at the hospital. Once the news spread that I was in labour, my Rangeman family couldn't stay away.
"Not again," I mumbled when we got inside the elevator.
"Has this happened before?" the young nurse asked.
"Unfortunately. Promise me that I won't be giving birth in the elevator," I replied. Woody explained what happened during Casey's birth.
The alarm chimed, indicating we were on the correct floor. "Not today," the nurse added. "Your baby will not be born in the elevator." I held my breath until she wheeled me into the delivery room.
Daniella Rowanie Johnson was born minutes after the OB on-call arrived. He gave my daughter to the nurse. Once the nurse cleared Dani's airway, she laid her on my chest. I got moved to the maternity ward a few hours later.
"Hey, Steph. How's my favourite daughter?" Danny asked, answering the call.
I switched to FaceTime dad. "I'm your only daughter. Daniella, say hi to your grandpa," I replied.
"Let me see, Danny," Baez stated. "She's adorable. Look at her hair. Congratulations, Stephanie." Daniella had dark, curly hair covering her head. It was only a few inches long.
"I named her after you, Dad. Her name is Daniella Rowanie," I added.
"You combined Woody and your names like they did in that Twilight book," Baez said. I heard a phone ring in the background. "We've got to go, Danny."
"I'll call you later, Steph. Kiss Daniella from her grandpa," Danny said before ending the call.
A few weeks later, Cal, Zip, Bobby and Ram returned. They dropped by the house when Tank said I was working from home. "Hi, guys. Come in," I said, answering the door. I noticed Ranger wasn't with them. My spidey sense was loudly humming as it warned me something was wrong.
"Why are you working from home?" Cal asked. Tank didn't tell them about the baby.
I laughed and got them to follow me to the living room. Casey was standing in his playpen watching his sister in the baby swing. "She's beautiful," Zip said, carefully lifting the infant from the swing.
"Thank you. Her name is Daniella Rowanie," I stated.
When Zip passed Dani to Cal, he picked up Casey and said, "I didn't forget about you, buddy." I found it humorous when they passed Casey around after holding Dani.
"Where's Ranger?" I asked.
Ram placed Dani into my arms, so I could feed her the bottle I warmed. "You're not nursing Dani?" Ram asked.
"She couldn't figure out how to latch," I replied. Bobby sat beside me to feed Dani. I gave him my daughter then the bottle.
"He didn't come home with us," Bobby said, concentrating on Dani. "We need your help to find him."
"Is he still alive?" I asked, my heart beating rapidly in my chest.
"I believe he is," Bobby replied.
"At least he was alive when he got us out of Colombia," Ram added. "Steph, he saved our lives by sacrificing himself. Ranger got captured so we could leave."
"We didn't have a choice," Cal added.
I left the room to grab my Rangeman laptop. After opening the map program, I asked Cal to pinpoint his last known location. "What did you do?" Ram asked as he looked over my shoulder.
"Ranger has a secure map of regions he travelled on various missions. Before he left, Ranger slipped a note into my pocket. He gave me access to the file," I replied.
"How do you know he wanted you to find him?" Bobby asked, placing Dani on his shoulder to burp her. Casey laughed when his sister burped then farted.
"Seriously?" I asked. "Honestly, Bobby. You guys knew it was a suicide mission. Ranger is the best man to beat the odds. He must have felt uneasy regarding this deployment and gave me the tools to find him. I'm bringing Ranger home. Dead or alive."
Cal outlined the trail they took from the landing point to the extraction location. I used a program Hector created to place the map trail onto the detailed map. Ranger indicated several areas where the guerrillas would hide. One group, he listed as being more trouble than the others. I honed in on that group and mapped out an area to search.
Ram wondered why I opened the airline webpage to book flights for Woody, Tony and Leo. We would land at the San Diego airport at 0500. I group-called the men to announce the sudden plans. "Hey, guys. I booked flights for us to San Diego. Reassign all of your projects to other team members. We're going to Colombia to get Ranger," I announced. "Meet me in my Rangeman apartment for briefing."
"Darlin', where would our children go?" Woody asked.
Bobby replied, "I'll take them back to Rangeman. Between the men and Ella, we'll take care of them."
"Do you have to go?" Tony asked. He was currently working out of the Trenton branch, having returned when I went on maternity leave.
"Yes. My spidey sense is going haywire. I'm the only person who could get through to Ranger. It has to be me. I don't want to leave my children behind, but I have no choice," I replied.
"Stephanie's bringing me, so I don't worry about her," Woody added, realizing why I'm bringing him along. "Darlin', make sure Bobby has a copy of our will."
"I'll grab it from the safe. Woody, I'm heading to Rangeman with the guys. I can get someone to drive us to the airport," I said before hanging up.
On the drive towards Rangeman, I updated Zip and Cal. They were impressed I expanded the employees to include veterans with physical disabilities. I had them assist Binkie with his investigation for the new branch in LA.
"When is the new branch opening?" Cal asked.
"We need Ranger's signature," I replied. It was mostly true. Technically, we only need three out of four signatures. "Three months."
I called my dad to let him know I'd be offline. He wisely refrained from asking questions. I said he was welcome to visit the children at Rangeman or contact Ella, and she'd bring them to New York with a Rangeman escort.
Uncle Frank and Jace worked a monitor shift. I dropped by the control room to let him know I was leaving. He told me that Helen moved to Oklahoma after suffering ridicule from the Burg biddies. Good riddance, I thought. Edna Mazur lived in my old apartment. "Stay safe, pumpkin," Frank whispered while hugging me.
"I'll stick close to the guys. Visit with Casey and Dani. Tell them that I love them," I said, fighting back the tears.
"Come on, Darlin'. We need to pack," Woody quietly said, guiding me away from the man who raised me.
Woody packed my pack since he knew what I needed for the trip. I briefed Tony and Leo. They were excited to rescue Ranger. "Why did you choose us?" Tony asked.
"You're Ranger's brother and know him better than anyone else. Leo has technical skills I feel we need during our mission. Woody would worry too much if he couldn't help keep me safe. I'm the only person who could bring Ranger back," I replied. I grabbed the maps I printed for the men to study.
"We should enter here, Darlin'," Woody stated. I agreed. It would give us the element of surprise. "I'll pack an inflatable craft."
Rangeman had all the weapons and gear we needed to complete the rescue mission. Leo added wireless mics and receivers. They used lithium batteries that would last for several weeks. "How do these work?" I asked.
"They're calibrated to work together. If someone hijacks the signal, the person would only hear static. Hector and I tested them thoroughly," Leo replied.
"Are they a prototype?" I asked.
"Yes. It would be the best way to test their effectiveness," he answered. I nodded, agreeing with his assessment. It would change how Rangeman works distractions and captures.
"I feel Ranger got held inside this derelict building," I pointed to the item on the map. I had a strong feeling he was getting tortured. It's the reason I needed to go. I'm the only person who could break through to his mind.
"Why there?" Leo asked.
"It has underground tunnels leading to this compound. Ranger stumbled on it during one of his missions. The tunnel has places to hide. If we have to go into the tunnel to get to Ranger, we need to be quiet and careful," I explained.
"Sounds like a dangerous job for the four of us," Tony added.
"Stephanie's spidey sense will keep us safe. It kept her from danger more times than I could recall," Woody stated.
"Except when we got into that car accident on the way home from New York," I reminded him.
"Your spidey sense protected Casey. I remember you getting into the passenger seat and buckling the seatbelt. We drove a few blocks before you told me to stop and let you sit beside Casey in the back," he recalled.
I shrugged. "Watch me closely for clues. If we get near explosives, I'll shudder. When I touch the back of my neck, it means we are getting closer to Ranger."
"Most importantly, if Stephanie says run, you run," Woody added.
"Have you guys never read the Trenton Times?" I asked.
Tony laughed. "They told a lot of tall tales about you. There was no way you set Stiva's on fire from discharging your weapon."
"You're right. I didn't burn down the funeral home. My grandma, Edna Mazur, fired her weapon. The bullet hit the crate of ammunition that exploded and burned down the funeral home. I barely got us out of there alive," I replied. Tony's mouth dropped open.
"The exploding cars?" Tony asked.
"Unfortunately, those stories are true," I confessed.
"What about Sally Sweet and the Slayers?" he wondered.
"I got kidnapped, shoved into the trunk of my car. My kidnapper took me to the circle where the Slayers kill their enemies. Sally Sweet drove his school bus over some of the gang members and shot his Uzi, saving me from harm," I recalled.
"You did all of that without training?" Leo asked.
"Yup. Then I grew up and realized getting trained meant fewer mishaps," I honestly answered.
"Are we packed?" I asked Woody.
"We are. Hector and Hal got our other items ready. Tank's driving us to the airport," he replied.
I stopped in Bobby's office to kiss my children goodbye. "Be a good boy for Uncle Bobby. I love you, Casey. I love you, Dani," I said before kissing them. Hugging Bobby, I whispered, "Take care of my babies."
"Come home," Bobby whispered.
Leaving my children behind was more difficult than I expected. Woody held me as the SUV drove further away from Trenton. "Concentrate on our mission. Run through the plan for us again," Woody suggested.
We spent the trip discussing our mission and memorizing the maps. Tank pulled a pair of scissors from the console. "Cut your hair, Little Girl," he said as he gave me the item. I grabbed my ponytail and adjusted it until I put it in a low ponytail, then cut above the elastic. It wasn't the best haircut, but it would be easier for me to manage.
Woody and Tony helped me cut the sides a bit shorter. When they were satisfied my hair didn't look like it got butchered, I dropped the scissors back into the console.
At the airport, Tank dropped us close to the terminal entrance. I pushed Tony from the SUV because I wanted to hug my gentle giant. "Keep my babies safe. I love you, Tank." I kissed him lightly on the lips.
He blushed before replying, "I love you too, Little Girl. Bring home our best friend."
Woody, Tony and Leo shook Tank's hand before closing the door. I accepted my pack from Woody, noticing it was slightly heavier than I expected. We used our Rangeman credentials to get through security while carrying our weapons. An Air Marshall boarded the plane once we took our seats.
"We have weapons, and he's making sure we don't hijack the plane," Woody said, speaking Italian.
"Makes sense," I replied. I fell asleep as we flew to San Diego.
The flight to Colombia got organized by Tank. He asked his friend to fly us to Colombia, where we'd jump from the plane. It would be the first time I skydived. Woody reassured me that I would be fine. He'll be my jump buddy. I'd be strapped to him as we plummet from the plane.