Chapter Four
Eight days earlier, Miami, Florida 2AM
Ranger and Tank drove up to the non-descript building and pulled into the parking garage. Grabbing their duffels, they headed straight to the Command center where Silvio had a dozen screens up and running. The room was packed with staff and there was tension in the air.
The center screen had a picture of a well-built Latino male in his mid-forties, with dark brown eyes and black hair streaked with grey. Beside the picture, his vital statistics were listed:
Julius Alejandro Manoso Age: 47
Height 6'1' Weight: 197 lbs.
Married, 3 children
Ranger reviewed all the data displayed, then rubbed his temples.
"Tell me what you know."
Silvio began the summary: "At approximately midnight local time, on his return to his accommodations, a team of approximately twelve men attacked your brother and his staff. During the firefight that ensued, three of your brother's body guards and his local liaison were killed, several others were wounded and are getting care at a local hospital. We believe several of the assailants were also wounded and possibly killed, but we don't have specifics as they removed all members of their team from the site. We don't know if your brother was injured- several of his wounded team members were interviewed but none of them saw him being put in the car. At this time, we have no information on his current location or the identity of those who took him."
"And the rest of my family?"
"All your sisters, their husbands and your parents will arrive in Miami no later than 6am. Your brother's family was in California, so it will take a little longer to secure them. Your daughter Julie, her parents and their children, as well as your grandmother, are already secured in the South Beach hotel. The Boston and Trenton teams are gearing up to send additional team members down to both protect your family and plan the extraction- the extraction plan should be ready to go as soon as we get a location fix on your brother."
"What else is needed?"
"All the letter agencies that your brother has worked with over the years have offered support."
Ranger shook his head. "No- we are keeping this in-house. I can't have some Washington lifer risking my brother's safety in the name of career advancement…. I am sure this doesn't need to be said, but I need you all to know, money is no object- whatever resources are needed to find Julius and get him back are available to you. I want another update in two hours- sooner if there is news. And NO PRESS! Julius Manoso is on an extended holiday with his family. I am going to South Beach to check on things there and then I will be back."
Four Days earlier, Miami, Florida 6PM
"Stephanie and Hector were right, there are signs Julius was in the building. They could not have left more than an hour before we arrived. The extraction team reported several team members were injured, none critical. Boss, it looks like they knew we were coming." The team packed up the conference room and moved out until only Ranger, Tank and Silvio remained.
Ranger swore under his breath. He had not slept more than a couple of hours at a time since his brother and business partner was taken. And now it seemed the sinvergüenza that had his brother also had access to information inside RangeMan. Unacceptable. If there was a mole in the RangeMan network, they needed to be eliminated before another attempt was made.
"Tank, have Hector send the wonder twins down here to Miami. Silvio, they need to focus on…"
"Boss, this room is monitored. I know what is needed and they will be a big help."
Thirty minutes before Ranger boarded a plane to Trenton, Miami, Florida 10PM
"Boss…" A young RangeMan, Luis, stood in the doorway
Ranger looked up from the schematics on his desk. "I said I didn't want to be disturbed."
"Boss, it's Lester Santos on the phone."
"I will call him back."
"Sir, he said, and I quote, "Unless he is talking to Jesus Christ himself, tell him to pick up the phone." The young man wisely left out the profanities that Mr. Santos had sprinkled throughout the message.
"What line?"
"2557, Sir." Luis closed the door as Ranger picked up the call.
"WHAT IS SO IMPORTANT…"
Five minutes later, Ranger barked from the door of his office. "Find Tank and Silvio. I need them here IMMEDIATELY! And somebody needs to get one of the pilots out of bed right now!"
Less than ten minutes later, Ranger left the building.
