Chapter 7: The day after the Plum Dinner, RangeMan Miami, Florida
"He wasn't supposed to be there. One of his guys was injured and that was why he was at the warehouse. Somehow, this last-minute change was known to the assailants. And the information had to have come from inside RangeMan- nobody else knew." Silvio was briefing the Wonder twins with Hector, still in Trenton, displayed on the monitor between them when Ranger and I entered the control room.
The Wonder twins, Melvin Schwartz and Charlotte Huck, were first-class hackers who first came to my attention when I was hunting Oswald Wednesday with Diesel. When we knew they were in danger, we hid them at RangeMan and they were able to take Ranger's system off-line in order to escape (and save my life). Since then, they have worked as contract employees at RangeMan, helping both Silvio in Miami and Hector in Trenton. They had earned the praise of both men. Which is why Ranger asked them to join the team in Miami, to "help find Julius". In truth, they were assigned the mole hunt, mostly because nobody would suspect the two gaming geeks.
"He flew from Boston to Miami and I didn't even know he left Miami until hours after the fact, so while it is possible, I don't think the Mole is in our Trenton Office." Ranger added as he took a chair across from Melvin and I sat beside him.
"Why were you not told?" Charlotte asked.
"Because my brother is hard headed." Ranger shook his head and I am sure he knew I was rolling my eyes. The hard headedness seemed like a common family trait. "Julius knew I would object- he shouldn't be in the field at this point in his government career. He is an Ops man, a major planner for… Let's leave it at he plans different operations for a variety of entities. They and I understand the value of the information he has."
Melvin looked up from his laptop. "Is that why they keep him alive? To get information from him?"
"That is a possibility." I bit my lower lip to keep from asking how they would get the information.
"Why have you closed out the other agencies- all have offered assistance from what Hector has told us." Charlotte asked. "More eyes to find the prize?"
"If an agency handled it, I would not be able to lead the team and it has to be me- any other team leader will consider killing the asset if it appears we can't get him out. Because he is my brother, I will not consider that option."
"And if your mole gets the details of this mission and they are waiting for you?" It was left unsaid that this was why our first attempt had failed.
Ranger rubbed the side of his forehead. It was clear he had not been sleeping well. "Then we will be a step closer to uncovering who the mole is."
I nudged his shoulder. "You are not amusing."
"If this mission fails, Charlotte, you and Melvin will need to mole hunt off the RangeMan grid. Silvio and Hector have made arrangements for that and your cover story will be time out of state with your relatives for the holidays."
"What happens to the team in the field?" Melvin asked.
"The whole team has volunteered. We all know the risks going in. And we are including a number of variables that will not be in the Op Plan- only the team will know some of the specific details on the Exfil. But Julius has to be brought out- it is imperative."
Charlotte looked at Ranger for a long time before breaking the silence. "Then we better get to work." She and Melvin would review all the information from the original crime scene and the failed rescue attempt. Ranger and I rose from the table.
"Thank you both- anything you need is available to you; Hector and Silvio will assist you." With that, we left our people to hunt our mole.
As we got in the car to head for the hotel, I asked who was going with him.
"Tank, Robert, and Hal from Trenton. Two more guys from our unit who work up in Boston.
"And you trust them all?"
"With my life."
As we got out of the car, I stopped him.
"Before we go inside and meet your whole family and all the chaos begins, I…" I swallowed hard. "Carlos… I need you to do one thing for me. I need you to be Ranger when you go. I need you to be the ninja, badass take-no-prisoners thunder that terrifies the terrorists. You need to put me and everything going on with us on the back burner and get in your zone when you leave- focused only on the mission until you come home." What I wanted to say was send somebody else… Don't leave me now. But I couldn't. Because my Carlos was Ranger to his team. And they needed him. And I needed to be okay with it.
"Babe, this is what I do, and what my team does. You have my word." The he gave me a full-on smile. "Frankly, I find the idea of telling my mother and abuela that you are having my baby and you have not yet agreed to marry me far more challenging than going to rescue my stubborn brother."
I took his hand in mine. "We will face the music together. After my mom, what is the worst that can happen?"
