Stephanie is thrown into the trunk of a car as Benito races away. Ranger struggles to find her, but loses the signal from her wire.
Stephanie
I didn't know how long I would have in the trunk, so I tried to make plans using the little information I had. I knew I was on a highway, but I couldn't see enough to tell which one. I didn't know how long I had been out, but I wasn't feeling particularly hungry. That meant it was probably less than 3 hours since the food at Cluck in a Bucket. So at the moment I was probably within a 2 hour radius of Trenton, and since we weren't stopping at all, on a limited access road rather than Route 1. The problem was that there were a hell of a lot of places in that area, and even if I knew exactly where I was, I didn't have a way to contact Ranger aside from the wire.
I thought about the wire. I really didn't want Ramirez to find it on me, but I also didn't want to give it up. It also had a limited battery life. I didn't know exactly how long, but I'd be surprised if it was more than a handful of hours. I didn't want to keep it in either my bra or my pocket. From what Lula and Jackie had told me, he was a sadist. I needed to plan for all the likely scenarios. I needed the wire somewhere that he wouldn't ever look, and that would be unlikely to be taken away. Trying not to shudder at the likely implications of that train of thought, I got to work.
Ranger
Back at the Stark Street Gym I slammed into a parking space right next to Lester. He and Tank were there, making phone calls and trying to coordinate a search. Lester looked over at me, worried. "What happened?"
"She was questioning Ramirez, and I was just out of sight. He was trying to hit on her. When he started getting too aggressive I came around the corner, and a gunshot came through the window. He snatched her up like she was a bag of pretzels and locked himself in a room with her. A few seconds later I heard a car start through the earpiece. By the time I got back there the car was headed around the corner."
Lester looked thoughtful. "A gunshot just happened to come through the window right as you were coming around the corner?
"Yeah. Shit. No way that was a coincidence."
I looked up at the window, then into the gym where several men were cleaning up the disordered space. Someone had put fresh duct tape on a punching bag, and there was a pile of sand on the floor underneath it. So that's where the bullet had gone. I drew a mental line from there through the hole in the window, giving me a decent guess at where the bullet had come from. Staring at the run-down apartment building that sat across the street, I saw that one window was open a couple of inches despite the chill in the air.
"Let's go" I said, as Lester and Tank followed me.
Stephanie
In the pale flickering light seeping into the trunk I studied the device. There was a small round hole the plastic for the microphone, and the thin wire that I assumed was the transmitter. But I nearly cried with relief at the other hole, a thin slash in the shape of a rounded trapezoid, the familiar socket of a micro-USB charger.
My hair seemed the best bet for keeping something hidden away. I took the bobby pins and carefully tucked the device away, cushioning it in my curls in case he touched the back of my head. Then I coiled up my old phone charger and did the same. If I was able to find an outlet, I'd be able to set it up as a beacon. If I was able to get time alone. If I ever made it out of this trunk alive. If, if, if.
Ranger
The apartment was empty, but it hadn't been for long. Next to the window was a rifle, a pair of binoculars, and a short stool. The floor was littered with fast food wrappers and empty cups, a space heater and a sleeping bag lay on the floor. The sleeping bag was high-end, the kind a backpacker would use, not the cheap thick ones the homeless favored. With only the space within 10 feet of the window looking occupied, it was reasonable to assume someone had been here to watch the gym specifically, rather than a squatter just looking for a place to crash.
I could only think of one person who would want to keep an eye on Benito Ramirez, and who wouldn't be able to leave for sleeping. "Morelli was here. He may have left the building, or we might have gotten lucky and he hid here. Canvass the building, see if you can catch him. But he's important for information more than anything, so don't risk hurting him. Much."
"You going to be joining us cuz?" Lester asked.
I shook my head. "I want to find out how the hell Ramirez was able to move so fast. Can't have been more than 7 seconds between him closing the door of that closet and him getting to the parking lot. And he was carrying a full-grown woman at the time. Something's not adding up. So I'm going to talk to who knows him best."
Stephanie
The car slowed down moments before making a turn off the exit. My adrenaline rammed into overdrive, my heart pounding so loud I could barely hear the engine roaring beneath me. I settled onto my back with the gun gripped between my hands, trying to give myself as stable a shooting stance as I could given my limited movement. The car slowed, turned, went straight, turned again. In a couple of minutes I had completely lost track of what direction I was going, even if I had started out knowing where I was, which I hadn't. But I did notice something odd, there was no sound of traffic. No brakes being slammed, or horns, or even other engines. Wherever we were, there weren't a lot of people around.
Ranger
Jimmy Alpha was sitting in his office, running his hands through his hair for the dozenth time in 3 minutes. In theory his job title was Ramirez's manager, but it was more like he was his babysitter, father figure, PR rep, and coach all rolled into one. And he wasn't happy about his prize fighter kidnapping a woman in broad daylight.
"Look, you've got to understand, a guy like me can go his entire career and not get a talent like Benito. I've been watching over him since he was a teenager. I know he's a little rough around the edges.."
"He assaulted a woman, then picked her up and carried her to a car, where he threw her in the trunk and drove away. That's more than rough edges." I stood over him, letting out just the tiniest sliver of the beast. That monster inside of me that was fed by years of violence. All my self control was in place to keep it leashed. Because most who saw it didn't live very long. "How could he do that, and so quickly? Don't tell me it's because of your training. I've had a hell of a lot more training than you could provide, and I've never seen anything like it."
His face paled. Smart man. "Look, Benito is good, but I still needed to give him an edge. Sometimes he gets lazy and doesn't want to train. And a few months ago I heard about a new thing on the black market."
"Steroids?"
"No, not exactly." He shook his head. "Something new, and something undetectable. It was called V. Made you faster, stronger, heal better. At first I got it for him because he got hurt. He got angry and punched a wall. Fractured 3 fingers. So it was just so he could get back in the game, you know? So he didn't lose a bunch of time waiting for his bones to heal."
"What the hell is V?"
"I suppose it's out in the public now. But V is still supposed to be kept quiet so you have to promise" I slammed my hand down on his desk. He jumped and backed into his chair as much as he could.
"What. Is. V"
Stephanie
I tried to remember everything Ranger had taught me. I took deep breaths, trying to calm down enough that my hands weren't shaking. As the car pulled into what felt like a driveway, I locked my elbows, ready to shoot.
The engine died only a moment before the driver door opened and slammed closed. Heavy footsteps crunched the gravel. "Steph-a-nie." he said in a sing-song voice. "You should have been nicer to the champ. Shouldn't have brought that other guy. Should have told him you were mine."
Oh God, he really is insane. I thought to myself. No turning back now.
The trunk lock made a scraping noise, and he opened it. I didn't hesitate at all. As soon as I saw him, I emptied my clip into his chest. He fell backwards to the ground. I sprang out of the trunk, dashing away as fast as my injured ankle could take me.
Ranger
"What. Is. V" I growled, tired of his games and evasion.
"It's vampire blood. Makes you stronger, faster, heals injuries, and great for your sex life."
"And you gave it to a raging psychopath with sadistic tendencies?"
He gulped, sweat pouring down his forehead. I was tired of this. I pulled my gun from my holster and held it to his head.
"What else did you do? You look way too guilty to have just juiced him."
"He loved the stuff, kept wanting more. I couldn't afford as much as he wanted. So he found one of them that was a big boxing fan and they changed him"
"Changed him? What do you mean changed him?"
"Into a vampire."
Stephanie
I had cleared the driveway and was running down the street, looking for a house with a car. But they were all dark and empty. This close to the shore, it was all vacation homes. I had passed 3 buildings when I was tackled from behind. I was flipped over, and stared into the face of an enraged Benito Ramirez. His shirt had bloody holes, but he had no problem pinning me down to the cold sidewalk and holding me there. "I'm going to make you pay for that bitch. I'll make you pay more than any of the other whores."
Fangs snapped down. I started to scream, but a hand covered my mouth before any sound got out. Then there was a sharp pain in my neck, and I felt something wet and sticky run down my skin. I felt lightheaded and woozy after only a few seconds, and then the edges of my vision faded to black.
