Standard issue disclaimer: This is not mine except for the original bits that are, and written purely for the enjoyment of myself and others. The thought that I'd make money of it is just laughable.

Those who are easily offended should refrain from reading. These characters talk, think and behave like adults.

RangeDay
Chapter 14

"You can't write, you can't use the mouse. What are you—" big yawn "—going to do in the office?"

"Ram, just pick me up please. I'm going insane!"

It was Wednesday morning, and she'd decided one day at home was quite enough for her sanity.

Ram sighed. She felt slightly sorry she'd called him out of bed. Then again, he had to get out anyway, and she desperately needed him to pick her up when he went to the office.

"If the boss growls because you were supposed to stay home longer, it's not on my head."

"He only said that I had to stay home yesterday. Nothing about today. Come on."

"Be there in half an hour."

"Thanks!" she called, but only the dial tone answered her.

Now she had to hurry to get ready. Normally thirty minutes would be fine before leaving for the office, but the cast slowed her down quite a bit. She managed the world's fastest one-handed catwash at the bathroom sink and struggled into her clothes. Buttons and zippers were out, so she settled for soft stretchy exercise trousers with a slight flare. Unfortunately they were Barbie pink. To even it out she picked a black hooded sweatshirt. Not exactly professional, but not totally slobby either. She just had to stay in her cubicle, on her chair, and nobody would see.

Yeah, right. She slipped on the sling they'd given her and she was ready to go.

Ram just stared at her legs when she opened the door to him, and not in a gosh-they-look-great way.

"What?" she snapped, hating to be dependent on getting rides and others shopping for her.

"Pink," he just said, like he was shell-shocked. Jeez, what was it with guys?

"It's the only thing I can deal with one-handedly," she grumbled. And she'd die before she'd ask help getting dressed. Except maybe to Ranger. Nope, on second thought, not even Ranger. That would just be too weird. She could deal with the impersonal way he'd washed her on Tuesday, because she'd been half unconscious and needed to be clean. However, when fully awake and aware, she liked Ranger the way he was. Liked the heated looks and the knowledge that he entertained Ideas when she licked her lips. It was sweet that he'd taken care of her, but frankly, 'sweet' was not a word she'd ever thought to connect to him. Domestic/Perfect Boyfriend Ranger was a little scary.

"Can we go now?"

Ranger was standing behind Hal at the monitor bank when she came into the control room. It was crew change-over so there were seven men staring at her in wordless shock. At least, she hoped it was shock.

Ranger looked like he was thinking about smiling. She did a one-handed 'what can you do?' gesture.

"Wow Steph, is that your suggestion for a new Rangeman uniform?" Bobby grinned.

"It's the only thing I could find that didn't have buttons," she said, a little defensively. Well, the only halfway decent thing without buttons.

"Babe," Ranger sounded amused. "Go shopping. Find something black."

"Can't go shopping." His eyebrows rose in question. "Have you ever tried signing a creditcard slip with your left hand?"

The guys burst into laughter. Guess they thought she was joking.

She went to her cubicle and put the mouse on the left side of her keyboard. That wasn't going to be easy to work with, but anything was better than sitting at home. Rex was good company, but the conversations tended to be a little one-sided.

She slowly keyed in the first search request and went to make herself a sandwich. She hadn't quite gotten as far as breakfast before Ram picked her up.

"You weren't supposed to get back here yet," Ranger said, appearing next to the fridge. "Bones broken during a takedown earn you a full week off, just ask Tank." He sounded amused.

She shrugged.
"I was going nuts at home. I like being at home when I should be out doing things, but…"

"When you have to be home…" he said.

"Speaking from experience?"

He nodded.

"What did you have?"

"Had my leg in traction for a while once."

Gah. At least she could get up and walk around.

"Well I'm not up to my usual speed, but I'm just going to be here. Unless this-" she pointed at her trousers, "is a problem."

"Babe." He was silent for a moment, as if he were considering something. "I don't want to give the men the idea that you get away with more than they would."

"I'm sorry. I can't drive, so I can't go shopping. Should I have stayed home?"

Please say no. I'm going to claw through the walls of my apartment.

"I'll think of something." His eyes were suddenly smiling. "I like it when you're here. Even if you do wear Pepto-Bismol pink."

She sighed in relief. The last thing she wanted was to be seen as Ranger's charity project who didn't have to follow the same rules as everybody else. The second-last thing was to be sent home because she didn't have the right colour of trousers on. Choices, choices.

"Be glad I'm not at home panicking about what on earth to wear to a mystery date." She managed to say it as a joke, but she was kind of worried about it. She could hardly turn up in sweats – what if he planned to take her to a nice restaurant? And she didn't exactly have a lot of clothing that went with a white biceps-to-knuckles cast. Plus, eating with one hand wasn't the most elegant thing she'd ever done.

He stepped a little closer, the outside of his arm brushing her shoulder. It probably looked casual. It didn't feel casual.

"Babe, don't worry about it. It's a relaxed place, or if you prefer, we can eat upstairs."

She tried not to look like a deer in headlights.

Eat upstairs? Hadn't they kind of decided to take things slow? She might have trouble reigning in her hormones if they were in his apartment with his shower and huge bed and 1000-thread count sheets so near.

"No, it's okay." Best not to put herself into temptation. Her body was very much opposed to taking it slow, but the rest of her found it a reassuring thought. If things would work out, they'd do so for a long time to come. There was no need to rush.

Sure, you really believe that, her hormones smirked.

She put her sandwich on a plate and brushed past Ranger to get out of the small kitchen corner. He leant in a little, so her arm touched his chest for a long moment. She grinned. They'd have to keep a professional distance in the office – even if they guys did know they were seeing each other, it wouldn't do the team any good if the boss was snogging with one of the employees in public view. Then again, she wasn't sure about him, but these little touches didn't exactly awaken professional thoughts in her.

"Babe."

"Babe." More emphasis now. She startled out of her trance. It was nearing 11 AM. Ranger was standing next to her. He quirked a smile and then grew serious again.

"Normally with a dress code violation I send the men home. Since you can't drive, I'm docking your pay for today instead."

That wasn't unexpected. At least she didn't have to go home, where the walls were closing in like that one scene in Star Wars.
"Okay."

"But because this isn't technically a working day for you, you're welcome to go upstairs and watch Ghostbusters. I should have the DVD somewhere."

Wide eyes.
"You watch Ghostbusters? You own the DVD?"

"My daughter loves it."

She decided to take him up on his offer an hour later, going for a lunchtime snooze instead of the usual workout. The film just served as a familiar backdrop; she curled up on the luxurious leather couch and sank away before the librarian even looked around the corner.

She woke suddenly and sat up. Something had changed. Blinking, she found Ella next to the couch. On the silent TV screen, the marshmallow man was burning.

"Sorry dear, I didn't mean to wake you."

The DVD system said it was just a little past 1 PM.

"That's okay, it was a one-film nap," she smiled. "Time to get back to work."

Her mobile phone rang around 3 PM, just when she felt like going back upstairs for another film. She normally didn't feel this tired early in the day. Could a broken arm – not even really broken – slow you down this much? Everything cost double the effort with this cast.

"Hey girl!" Lula called out as soon as she answered. "You up for some shopping?"

"Up for it, always. But I'm at work."

"Well girl, ask the boss. I got the feeling he won't object. He don't say 'no' to you a lot."

"I really can't ask for time off to go shopping—"

She felt the hair in the back of her neck prickle, and turned around to find Ranger watching her. He gave a small nod.

"—oh."

"What's happening girl?" Lula said in her ear. She was still watching Ranger. She wasn't sure she could stop. God, he looked good. He quirked a small smile and mouthed 'go shop'.

"Huh? Oh sorry. Apparently I can go shopping with you."

Lula burst into laughter.
"He with you there now? I can tell 'cause you all fuzzy-brained suddenly. Does the man know he got this effect on you?"

Her eyes were still on him. She felt rooted to the spot. His eyes were dark, and she felt her stomach do a weird flip-floppy thing.

"You know…" she said after a long moment, swallowing because her throat felt dry, "I think Macy's is just what I need right now."

Ranger flashed a smile, put an envelope on her desk, and disappeared.

When she'd hung up the phone she got to that envelope. It was in the same sort of envelope her paychecks arrived in, except it wasn't time for a paycheck. It was addressed and gummed closed like it was ready for the outgoing mail. There was a yellow post-it note on it with a few words in scrawly handwriting. Ranger's. Looking at his writing you couldn't help the feeling that he'd missed his calling as a serial killer. He usually typed everything he couldn't say in person – as Tank put it, to cut down on the amount of people queuing at his desk to ask him what the hell he'd written to them.

She looked at the words a moment. 'Go by the bank first'.

Curious about what he meant she opened the envelope. There was a note on Rangeman paper. It said 'Bonus for high-risk takedown, April 4.' Inside the note was a cheque for five grand.

She looked at the date. Yesterday. Thank God, that meant he hadn't just written a check minutes ago to send her shopping with. Probably Tank got one as well. If she was going to be involved with the boss she didn't want the feeling that he was treating her different than the rest of the employees. At least not on the work floor. Off the work floor he was welcome to treat her very different than the guys… in fact she'd insist on it.

"Girl, I been wanting to speak to you," Lula began as soon as she'd gotten into the Firebird. "You give my man the idea I knew something 'bout that Rangeday thing?"

Aha, so Hal had been in on the bugged bear. She stifled a grin. Seemed like Lula and Hal were pretty serious. Her friend looked great. Glowy.

"I might have. You and he still good?"

Lula got a silly grin. "Girl, we GREAT. Lemme tell you, Yesterday I got home and he was at my place and he was all.. intense, you know? Said I knew a secret and when the night was over, I'd be begging to tell him!"

"And?"

She fanned herself. "I was begging alright!" She made an oh-wow face. "Told him a whole bunch of things, but guess it wasn't what he wanted to hear."

Stephanie laughed.
"If you play your cards right you can stretch that game at least another night."

"I was gonna give you shit about not telling me all about this party of yours," Lula said. "But I decided you can keep your secret. More fun for me this way!"

At the end of the day she had some clothes that she could manage with one arm and that didn't look like pyjamas. Her hair was a problem, but she was quickly coming to the conclusion that she didn't feel particularly sexy with that big cast, and couldn't truly be bothered to fret about her hair. Ranger had seen her in worse states and somehow that hadn't deterred him, so there shouldn't be a problem with just looking nice rather than the drop-dead sexy look she had been intended to go for. Even though it went against all her Burg instincts.

Lula brought her home after they'd had dinner at the golden arches. In her defence, Stephanie had managed not to supersize anything. Still, by the time she got home she was on a distinctive Mc-Rush.

"Hey, if you want to keep Hal's attention with this torture thing," she said on an impulse before she stepped out of the Firebird, "Mention the codeword. Aurora."

Lula grinned wide.
"Aurora? I'll keep it in mind. See you!"

Stephanie sank down on her bed with a satisfied sigh. She had some nice new clothes and made her friend very happy. And tomorrow… tomorrow would be good too.

Actually, before she went to sleep there was one thing to do.

"Moshi moshi."

"Hey Tsuy, how was your date?"

It was silent a moment. Maybe her friend wasn't used to such an abrupt beginning of a phone conversation.

"Hello Stephanie. How is your arm?"

"It doesn't hurt, but this big cast is annoying. I keep wanting to stretch my arm."

"I'm sorry to hear that. When does it come off?"

"I hope the beginning of next week. Hey, you're avoiding the question!"

Tsuy was quiet for a long moment. Stephanie wondered if she was going to tell at all.

"It was… good. We enjoyed ourselves."

"And… what did you do? I want details!" oh God, she had turned into Lula.

"We went to an animal shelter."

Hmm, that was an unexpected move from Tank, though she had to admit she didn't really know him well enough to know what was normal for him. They spent time together at work, but she'd never really come to know at-home Tank. Like with Ranger, she hadn't really been aware that there was an at-home Tank.

"Were you this quiet with him too?" she grinned.

"No."

"And? Are you going to see him again?"

"Yes."

She could hear the smile in her voice.

"How did you know when we met?" Ah, so Tsuy could be curious too. Stephanie grinned.

"I could see it on his face. He's been all… all…"

She let the silence stretch. It took a while. Tsuy wasn't bothered by silence. Did the woman not have an impatient bone in her body?

"All?"

Hah!

"All glowy."

It was true, too. Tank was just as quiet as usual, but he seemed subtly different. She'd caught him smiling while he was doing paperwork. Maybe this was an alternative universe where the guys smiled while doing paperwork, but she didn't think so.

Another day, another hasty morning ritual. She hadn't slept very well; the cast kept her from getting completely comfortable. Ram waited patiently as she tamed her hair and pondered her clothing choice. Chances were good that she wouldn't get home before her date, so she had to choose strategically. She finally went with new stretchy black trousers, Rangeman T-shirt and black fleece jacket loose over her sling. She packed a fancier top and a bright blue shawl for the evening. It wasn't sexy, but at least it didn't look like she'd gone out in her pyjamas.

She was grateful for her shopping trip that evening. It wasn't that it was a fancy restaurant – cozy was a better description – but… well it was a little Cuban place, and she couldn't quite escape that Ranger knew the owner quite well. Maybe family-well. So it was a good thing that she didn't look completely uncivilised, even if she did have to eat with one hand.

Dessert had just arrived when Ranger's phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen and then answered. It was probably Tank, he'd told anyone else not to bother him.

"Yo. No, she's with me."

She gave him a questioning look. He listened to an explanation on the other side, shaking his head slightly as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Tell them she's fine. We'll come by after dinner for the paperwork."

He put the phone away and she leant her chin on her hands, looking at him.
"I don't really want to hear this, do I?"

"Probably not."

She picked up her spoon and dug into the delicious swirl of white and pure chocolate mousse.
"So don't tell me yet. After dinner."

He looked like he was considering a smile. Probably it wasn't too serious if he reacted like this. Damn, this mousse was amazing. How could Ranger resist this stuff? He'd taken one small spoonful from hers, savoured it, and that was enough for him. The man obviously had self-restraint that exceeded any level she could imagine.
This smile was probably because he couldn't imagine her not wanting to find out right away. Just because she was curious didn't mean she couldn't wait a while to find out, right? It was probably something dramatic yet entertaining. Grandma Mazur arrested for lechery. Another dead guy on her couch. A firebomb to her appartment.

Oh my God, how can I think that? Rex!

"I give in. What happened? Is Rex okay?"

"Babe."

"Well?"

"They found your car abandoned not far from the bond office. Tank was just checking if you were okay."

"Right, so what was it doing there?"

"He thought joyriders, but they're still looking into it."

"Is it too much to ask that it's in one piece?"

He hesitated a moment, and she groaned.
"It exploded, didn't it?"

"It looks like it was driven into a lamp post and then exploded."

She wanted to scream. She wanted to bash her head against the table. She wanted to yell "WHY ME?" at the word in general.

Instead she took another spoonful of the mousse and felt her eyes drift shut in pure unadulterated enjoyment. When she opened her eyes again, Ranger was watching her intently, his eyes very dark. He seemed a little surprised at her lack of reaction.

"It's a car," she shrugged. "Cars blow up. It wasn't even a very nice one, so I have a hard time getting worked up over it."

"I'll have someone drop off a car for you."

"Thanks, but by the time I can drive again," she indicated her arm, "I'll have bought a new one."

He looked amused.
"Babe, I meant for you to keep the car."

Oh. She looked at him and debated the idea of accepting another car. If he'd give her an Explorer that was written off and getting replaced, then she could live with that. But knowing him it wouldn't be an older or cheaper car, and she felt a little uneasy about accepting. Especially since its origin would be hard to define. She had other options. She could afford a new second hand. Maybe she'd get another Accord. Her current… previous… had served her well.

"Giving someone a car after the first date?"

"Babe, I gave you a car well before our first date."

That was true. But back then she hadn't had much in the way of options. And if she were fair about it, she hadn't been trying to find some kind of balance for a relationship with him, either.

"Well, I can't accept one now we're dating. Look, I can't explain it right now, okay?"

He looked at her for a long moment, and then nodded in acceptance.

"What are you going to do?"

"Second-hand car shopping. Want to come?"

He was quiet a moment, maybe reviewing his mental calendar.

"Tomorrow afternoon."

She rolled her eyes. He could at least have made it sound like a question.

"I have to work tomorrow. I was planning on going Saturday morning."

He flashed a grin.
"If you ask your boss nicely he'll give you time off and drive you there."

Drat, he had her there. Unless she wanted her father along, which would no doubt invite long discussions about her job and the buying of American-made cars… She loved her father, but the idea of taking him along car-shopping didn't appeal much. He'd only try to talk her into a Buick.

"Okay. Three O'clock work for you?"

She took another spoonful of mousse, and he nodded, watching her. She finished her dessert in silence. The way he was looking at her eating the mousse gave her three-quarters of a hot flash. How could a man make her feel like that just by watching her eat? Only Batman had this effect on her. Pondering this, she realised she'd let her tongue flick out to clean off the spoon.

"Babe." He sounded warning, and just a tiny bit strained. His eyes said that she was playing with advanced nuclear weaponry. She blushed a little and put the spoon down.

He paid for the meal and then guided her out with a hand in the small of her back. She felt warm and fluttery. Spending time with Ranger had always made her feel warm… hot even… but the fluttery thing was new. Scary, too. It made her realise that she was treading on thin ice here. Better walk carefully or it would break… and then she'd really be in the cold.

He backed her against the side of the BMW and cradled her face in his hands, giving her an intense look. Arousal mingled with apprehension and she shivered. Could be that she was already in over her head. Could be that he had a hold of her heart. Could be that she wasn't completely convinced he'd be careful with it.

"Dios, what you do to me," he breathed, leaning in to kiss her. No tongue, just deliciously soft lips, caressing her own with such a tender intensity that she felt like he was stealing her air. When he backed off she found her good hand had fisted into the side of his shirt.

His lips curled into the hint of a smile and he kissed her forehead, just a light brush of his lips. She took a slow, deep breath and felt most of the apprehension melt away.

"Let's go," he said softly. She thought just for the fraction of a second that he'd take her to his home. His eyes were—

"We need to sort out the paperwork."

Oh. She didn't know if that little rush in her stomach was relief or disappointment.

By the time they arrived, her ex-car was being hauled up on the flatbed truck that would take it to the scrap heap. She looked at it and sighed. Just then Morelli's car came down the street and stopped next to where they were watching the proceedings. The window rolled down and he nodded at them in greeting.

Ranger nodded back, face neutral. Joe looked from the wrecked car to her and grinned

"You outdid yourself on this one, Cupcake. Remote explosions are a new one."

"It's not funny."

His lips pressed into a line, and his eyes were laughing. She looked into his eyes and felt a giggle bubble up. She clapped a hand over her mouth before it could get out.

"I bet it wasn't your fault, either," he grinned.

"Shut up," she laughed. "Was anyone hurt?"

"I just got the call that two kids turned up at the emergency room. Eyebrows scorched off and some superficial burns."

"Thank God no one died. Hope it was a lesson for them."

He hesitated a moment.
"When the call went out…" he closed his eyes a moment and grimaced. "Your phone went straight to voicemail."

"I turned it off. I'm sorry."

He opened his eyes and gave her a sad smile.
"It's okay. Tank called me as soon as he knew you were okay."

She blinked. Not something she'd expected from Tank. He and Joe has been uncomplimentary about one another the few times they'd commented on each other. She made a mental note to thank Tank him for not letting Joe worry.

Morelli made eye contact with Ranger.
"'ppreciate it," he said.

Ranger nodded in acknowledgement.

She followed him into her apartment and waited while he checked around.

"Clear." He slid his gun back into his waistband and went to the door. She looked at him in surprise. Was he in a hurry to leave?

"Are you not… I was going to make coffee," she said.

"I have to go, Babe."

"Oh." Well that was embarrassing. Ask a guy to stay a while after he brings you home and he practically runs out. Doubly embarrassing and painful when it was Ranger. Usually she didn't scare guys off until at least the third date.

He must have seen some of that on her face, because suddenly he was standing in front of her.

"Babe, why didn't you want to have dinner in my apartment?"

Because I didn't think I could resist you if you decided that you wanted me in your bed, she thought. Because I really think this might have a chance if we don't rush anything.

He kissed her then. It wasn't a lets-get-naked kind of kiss. It was slow and sensual and full of promise. When he finally broke it she was plastered against him, his arms around her.

"That's why I have to go now. I'll see you tomorrow," he said with the hint of a smile.

When she came into the office the next day Lester and Hal was at the control desk.

"Hey Steph!" Lester said. "Glad you're okay!"

"Yeah. Sorry about your car," Hal added.

"Thanks. Is Tank in?"

Lester glanced at a roster.
"He's working from 1200 to 2000 these days."

She smiled at the military time denotation.
"I thought he came in mornings…"

"He used to, he just changed this yesterday."

Hmm, that was interesting. Something to do with Tsuy maybe? Working 80 hours a week wasn't exactly practical if you were serious about seeing someone. Oh well, she could try to pry it from him later. Or not. Maybe she should leave it. Yes. No. Damn.

"Ah, I just wanted to thank him for calling Joe and my parents last night."

Hal beamed.
"First test of the new protocol. Worked well, didn't it?"

"Protocol?"

Tell me you don't have a flowchart called 'things to do when Stephanie blows stuff up'

"We've been updating all the protocols. They're basically lists of actions to take in different situations. Who to call, and so on. Everyone here has at least one to his name."

"And… how many do I have?"

"Three. We were going to ask you to look at them. Make sure we're not missing anyone when we start calling."

"Okay. It worked well yesterday though. My parents heard from here before the grapevine reached them."

Hal and Lester high-fived each other.

"That was the challenge when we were working on your protocol," said Lester. "Oh, I think there's an envelop full of paperwork headed your way about what you want to happen if you get hurt in the field. You haven't had one before because you didn't do fieldwork, but now…"

"And a meeting with the Rangeman laywer," Hal added.

"Boy, that's thorough."

"The boss is a thorough man."

That he was. He was also a sneaky man. When she settled in at her desk she found a post-it note between the papers in her desk drawer. It said 'Laser Quest Challenge' and a phone number in a handwriting she didn't recognise. It was a little scuffed, as if she'd had it for a while. She'd never seen it before, so the concluded this was Ranger's way to keep the others off-balance about what direction she was taking with RangeDay.

Just to add to the confusion, she wrote 'ref: 8301' on a smaller post-it and stuck it to the first one.

The day was half over before she really knew it. Ranger appeared in her cubicle, dressed in black/grey camo trousers and tight black T-shirt. He wasn't thugged out, but it was definitely his street side. Yum. She didn't see Street Ranger much these days.

"You ready?"

"Yup."

He led the way to one of the older Explorers. She wondered why they were taking that car, but didn't ask. Probably he'd just smile and not tell her anyway. She settled in while he drove out of the garage.

"Babe, why don't you want me to give you a car?"

She looked at him as he drove. This had to bother him on some level if he returned to the subject. She wondered if she would ever be able to explain it to him.

Because I'm not convinced that they're completely legal and I don't know how to ask you.

"It's hard to explain. Why do you want to give me one?"

He shrugged. "Like seeing you in things I gave you."

"I have a wardrobe full of Rangeman clothes, you see me in that all the time," she deflected. It was true, too. It had started out with the standard T-shirts. Then the fleece jacket, Goretex windbreaker, sleeveless tops for in the gym… latest addition were nice black blouses with the Rangeman logo, for client meetings. "Everything short of monogrammed Rangeman underwear."

He looked over at her, his eyes widened a fraction and she saw the idea take root. Uh-oh.

"I hate blowing up fancy cars," she changed the subject in a hurry. "When it's a second hand make-do it's not such a waste." Nice save. And good to know that the mention of underwear distracts him from a subject.

He inclined his head a fraction to concede her point, and let the subject rest. Thank God.

"What kind of car were you thinking of?"

She looked over the huge lot filled with used cars. "I don't know. Thought maybe I'd get another Accord."

He watched as she checked out a few cars, and then drifted off to where the trucks were parked. He seemed to take a particular interest in one older model Toyota. When he pulled out his cell phone, she wandered over to find out what was up.

"Yo ... Yeah. Hey, that truck you'd seen on Top Gear... that one. What model? ... Hilux 2.4. Think we have a winner... no, 98 … Al could take care of that … Yeah, I'll tell her."

She looked at him, intrigued as usual by the cryptic conversation. He cut his eyes from the car to her and back, seeming to contemplate something. She looked at the car, trying to figure out why it had his attention. It was a midnight blue Toyota Hilux, a smallish truck. It was late-90s and looked well-used, but it had the kind of sturdy look about it that said it wasn't even halfway its useful lifespan.

"So what's special about this one?" she said when he didn't explain himself.

"It's ideal for you."

"But I don't want a truck."

"I think you should consider this one. It's very special."

"I repeat, what's special about it?"

"This truck might be THE most indestructible vehicle available to civilians."

She quirked an eyebrow at him. When he just looked back, faint grin still on his face, she got into the cab and slammed the door shut, trying to get a feel for the car. The interior had obviously been cleaned, but it was still shabby. The seats were ripped. She did like the view of the road it offered. And it had a passenger bench instead of a seat, so in a pinch three people fit in.

The passenger door opened and Ranger got in.

"Tank can tell you more about this, but the short story is that a British carshow called Top Gear subjected this model to some very destructive tests, and it survived everything, still started, and still drove."

"I should probably feel insulted by the fact that that makes a car ideal for me," she sighed. "But I guess it's true. So what did they do with it?"

"Among other things, drove it into the sea and dug it out of the sand after the tide left it. Set it on fire. And put it on top of a 20-story flat building when it was demolished."

"By machines?"

"Explosives."

"You have to be kidding me."

"Apparently it needed some crowbarring to get the wheels free, fifteen minutes of work by a mechanic, and it was good to drive."

She sat back and debated it with herself. On the one hand the car wasn't exactly glamorous. She'd set out with something hot and sleek in mind.. and if not that, at least something fit for polite society. This car wasn't polite. In fact, her mother would probably have a conniption.
On the other hand, it was kind of cool. The outside looked pretty good, and it had a good feel to it. It there was such a thing as a car that complemented her aura, this had to be it. And a car you could drive into the sea, leave there for a tide, dig out and drive away in... it might just be up to a career as her car.

"You've convinced me. I don't like the interior though."

"Let's talk to Al about that."

"What if I need to transport people? Or go on a stakeout?"

"Babe." isn't-that-obvious tone. "You borrow an Explorer."

"Thanks." she sat in silence for a minute more. "Yeah... yes. I want Al to check it out, and if he says it's a good buy, I'll go for it."

Ranger smiled.

Forty minutes later Al turned off the engine and patted the hood, grinning at her.
"Good choice. This puppy is going to last forever."

Yeah right, with her history for cars?

"Does it need any work?"

"Bit of tuning... I could have it ready by tomorrow evening."

"What can you do for the interior?"

"When does that cast come off?"

"Wednesday, hopefully."

"Tell you what, I'll fix it up nice and drop it off for you Wednesday."

"Works for me."

She paid for the car and watched Al drive it away. Ranger put an arm about her and kissed her temple.
"Let's eat."

Mmm. Good idea.

To be continued