Thanks for the great support on this one. I'm starting to feel better and I'm headed back to work today. This short story is almost at the end.
Let me know your thoughts on this one update (the actual chap's nearly 3k).
Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE. I apologize if this update has more typos than usual...
Ranger's POV
From the moment I landed in Miami, I was neck deep working to resolve the clusterfuck in this branch.
Around lunch time, I managed to take out a few minutes to reach out to Julie. I knew that she wouldn't be in class at the time, but still kept our conversation short so she wouldn't get in trouble. I hoped we could get together for a meal before I had to go back to Trenton. I promised to reach out so we could schedule something possibly the day after tomorrow. I was currently in the middle of the newest Rangeman emergent issue and want to resolve it as soon as possible.
Before sixteen hundred hours, I had another minuscule breather. Babe was the recipient of my next non-work call.
"Yo." She greeted, the sound of her voice doing wonders to help soothe my mood.
"Yo, yourself, Babe." I greeted back. "How'd your capture go?" Unlike her popular belief that I track her movements in real time, today at least I haven't had much time for anything aside from Bossman duties like she likes to call them.
"Hal and I tracked my FTA to a secluded section of the Pine Barrens." I could hear the smile in her tone as she emphasized taking a partner.
"Proud of you, Babe." I'll always encourage her and help her achieve her goals. Her independence is very important to her. I'd never want to cut her wings, stunting her flight. Yet, I'll never be okay with her taking unnecessary risks. She's learned a lot and honed her skills to be able to stay safe when she goes after FTAs.
We spoke for a few minutes until a beeping sound floated over the line.
"Shit." Babe murmured that her phone was about to die. "I forgot to put it to charge last night and this morning we were a little busy saying goodbye." She went on to say she'd message me once she charged her phone.
Before I could I hear her say goodbye, the line dropped.
My afternoon progressed from there. I didn't have time to focus on much else.
When my phone buzzed a little after nineteen hundred hours, I was taken aback to see Tank's name flashing across my display.
"Talk." I ordered, bypassing any greeting to save time. If he's calling me instead of sending me a message, then it's an emergency.
My abdomen instinctively clenched even before Tank relayed the information.
"How long?" I gritted out, looking at the time.
"Sometime after 3:39pm when she got to her apartment." Tank said the control room looked at her trackers, which put her there along with her cellphone last pinging in that location.
"I was on call with her at the time. Stephanie relayed that her battery was about to die. The call cut off before she could say goodbye." Guilt began to rear it's ugly head as the rational part in me silently assured that there was no way I could have known that something was amiss.
"The phone never came back on after your talk." Tank surmised that Stephanie had to have been intercepted before she could connect and re-power her device.
"What do you know so far?" I demanded even as I summoned Edson and Silvio to my office. The two are currently co-managing this branch. They've done such a good job the last year that it's made it nearly impossible to hand the reigns over to just one of them. They're an excellent combo, complementing each other to help balance out their weaknesses.
Tank told me that Hal believed the FTA he and Babe went after had some involvement in the matter. Lester and Hal bonded her out. "She's in the large conference room on five." Tank finished off by saying that she was currently being interrogated.
"Keep me informed." I ordered before telling him that I would be heading out in ten minutes. Without waiting for a reply, I hung up just as Silvio walked into my office.
"Edson is one minute out, sir." Silvio relayed when he took in my arched eyebrow.
With no time to waste, I got down to it. Edson arrived halfway through my series of commands. They'd be in charge and I'd be available remotely if there was a bigger emergency here than the one I'm going back to Jersey for.
"Stephanie?" Silvio correctly guessed as he followed after me as I headed for the hall.
"Yes. She's missing." I shared as I fetched my cell out of my right cargo pocket. Sending a quick text to Steve, Rangeman's pilot, I gave him my ETA and told Silvio not to hesitate to reach out if I was needed.
"I'll handle this front…" He jabbed a finger behind him, while risking placing a hand on my shoulder to give me a reassuring squeeze. "You get Stephanie back to us."
With a curt nod, I hauled ass up to my penthouse on the seventh floor. I'd only packed a small duffle bag containing some essentials for my trip. I didn't even unpack when I arrived earlier today, so all I had to do was grab the bag again and I was running back down the seven flights of stairs.
Making the decision to have a private jet has saved Rangeman a lot of hassle and time, especially when I need to travel between branches at a moment's notice.
It wasn't until we were in the air that I felt a bit of relief. I'm coming, Babe.
S&R
Hal's POV
"Caruso? As in Sergeant Caruso?" Officer Gazarra looked pensive for a moment. Every Rangeman held their breath, silently wondering if bringing the TPD in on this was such a great idea after all. We figured things were going to get ugly, and wanted to have back up from at least one of the guys in blue to make sure we covered our ass. This will be a legal nightmare, so corrobration from the police will come in handy.
"I know it's hard to believe." Mary said in that small voice. Her head was bent forward, giving Eddie Gazarra the most respect I've seen him get from anyone. For a moment I wondered if he was involved as well, but quickly scratched off that idea. He didn't fit the mold and I couldn't picture him wanting to hurt Stephanie. He's one of her closest and long running friends.
"Actually, now that I think about it…" Gazarra glanced around the room. "Weirder things have happened when Stephanie's involved." He took a moment to ponder something before he looked at Mary. "Do you have any idea where they'd take Stephanie?"
Mary jerked her head up in obvious shock, not quite believing how easily the officer before her was willing to be on her side.
"There's, uhm, a ceremonial site." She said, still looking very afraid to speak.
"Where?" I asked, not wanting to risk her clamming up.
"In the woods."
"The Pine Barrens?" Lester squeaked out, earning a small head nod from Mary in response. "Those woods are huge!"
Many of the guys grunted, because it was true. The Pines span over several counties. Add in the fact that it's nighttime, well, we're going to be looking for a needle in a haystack.
"If you give me a map, I can point to it." Mary finally raised her head, looking at the room bravely.
"A map, pronto!" One for he guys said, sending the room into action.
I gave Mary a small smile, thanking her for her cooperation.
"I still have my cloak." She whispered to me, doing her best to be helpful.
I nodded at her, because that's a great way to have an in undetected.
S&R
Stephanie's POV
Caruso was going off on some spiel about purity and loyalty. He'd thrown some secret jargon code in there for good measure a time or two before he ordered one of the cloaked figures to step forward.
The figure bowed, silently awaiting orders, leaving an old looking lantern by their side on the dirt floor.
"Get her ready for the ceremony." Was all Caruso said before he stepped out, leaving me alone with this new entity as he closed the door after exiting.
"You don't have to do this." I pleaded as the figure struggled to move my chair, angling it so that I wouldn't be able to see the door behind me.
"Don't speak, or he'll hear." The figure said softly, bending to untie my feet after depositing a wrinkly paper wrapped package on a wooden crate on my left.
My head snapped back to face the figure as I noted that the voice sounded familiar. I watched the figure like a hawk, fairly certain that it was a woman. Correction, a woman from the Burg.
The hood slid off her head when I jerked my body involuntarily as she reached for my hands behind my back. "Sorry. It's a reflex." I said, assuring her that I wasn't going to fight her. I was full of shit, lying my ass off but I needed to gain this woman's trust.
"Please don't make this any harder than it already is." The soft voice wrapped around me as Isabella Rizzo stepped back. Isabella and I grew up in the Burg. We were in the same grade. She was pretty, but not mixed in with the popular crowd. She kept herself in the shadows, taking shy to a new level. I was always very verbal, outspoken to a fault, so we weren't friends by any means.
"Bella, it's me, Stephanie Plum." I wanted to play at her conscience because I refused to believe that there was no humanity left in her brainwashed self. "We grew up together." Hell, we lived on the same block! "You don't have to be a part of this."
"I will have to call for assistance if you keep talking." Bella warned, reaching beside us to open the wrapped package.
As soon as I saw the glint of a needle in the dim lighting, I lunged forward. "I'm so sorry." I wheezed out as we struggled for control of the syringe. In the end, thanks to my elbow the needle didn't stick me. Instead, Bella ended up sticking herself. The wide blue-eyed gaze she gave me was full of panic. I swallowed, grateful that our roles weren't reversed for once. As soon as it looked like she was going to scream, I clamped my hand over her mouth to effectively muffle her dying screams. When whatever it was took effect, she was out cold. In seconds too.
Knowing that I was on borrowed time, I got to working. I shimmied out of my Rangeman uniform and boots, swapping our outfits in record time. Bella is about my height, but thinner. Her navy blue long sleeve shirt and legging type pants fit me like a second skin. In turn, my cargos and T-shirt fit her a bit loose, which made it a lot easier to wrangle on her limp body than me putting on her tight outfit. Her black sneakers were a bit wide, but I'd make do. I finished her off with my combat boots, cramming her feet as best as I could inside of them. Lifting her up, partially dragging and carrying her, to be able to sit her on the chair was quite a feat. I silently promised to hit the gym and some weights if I made it out of this one.
When two solid thunks came from the closed wooden door, it was my heads up that my time was nearly over. I donned on the dark cloak, tying the strings around my neck to keep it from falling off my shoulders. Rummaging through the package that was intended for me, I pulled out a shawl type thing. It was glossy white. I threw it over Bella's still form, covering her from shoulders to waist. Binding her hands and legs wasn't as tricky as dressing her, thankfully. The last piece of cloth in the package looked like a silk pillowcase. It took me a few seconds to realize it would be a good idea to put it over Bella's head to help buy me some extra time. Her hair is more wavy than curly, but having the ends of her hair strands peaking out of her head cover didn't make it too obvious that it wasn't my wild curls under there.
Propping her up as best as I could, I covered my head with the hood and chanced getting caught. It was the only way out I could see.
"Is she ready?" A male voice asked as soon as I exited the little shack in the middle of what looked like the woods. The all too familiar pines told me exactly where we were. One more reason to hate the Barrens.
Instead of a reply, I gave the cloaked figure before me that same bow Bella gave to Caruso. In response, the figure before me waved someone else over and both went inside.
I didn't get as far as I would have wanted to, choosing not to draw too much attention to myself as I blended amongst the other cloaked figures. It was hard to tell who was male and who was female, but one thing was for sure: Caruso definitely has a good sized following. I counted at least twenty people milling about, not including the two that were dragging a still passed out Bella out of the shack.
Once Bella was tied to some weird looking totem pole, Caruso emerged from the shadowy woods.
As soon as he started talking, guiding the group in some freaky ceremony type thing, I started discretely moving to the back of the group as they chanted something that I couldn't understand.
I bumped into a solid form behind me, making me sweat. I didn't want to be caught before I had a chance to really escape. Turning slowly, so that my hood wouldn't fall off and reveal my identity, I did the same bowing motion as before to the big figure before me. I got a grunt in response before the figure moved forward, leaving me in the back all alone.
My heart was beating wildly in my chest as I waited for all eyes to be up front so that I could bolt. I figured my chances would be better in the woods than out here in the open.
A collective gasp resounded around the group when Caruso yanked the cover off of Bella's head. Revealing one of their own, instead of me, had everyone stilling in shock.
I'd managed to make it to the edge of the tree line when Caruso let out a bellowing scream.
"Don't just stand there! Get her!" Caruso ordered just as I turned my back to the group and hauled ass, weaving through trees as the hood fell off my head.