Rangeday

Chapter 20

"You're all... glowy," Tsuy greeted when she'd climbed into the passenger side of the Hilux. "I take it you had a good week?"

It was Thursday May 4, the day before Rangeday. A takedown had come up the day before and she'd had to cancel the lesson, so this was the first time she'd seen her friend since last week.

"Oh yeah," she said as she pulled away from the dojo. "Wonderful week."

The glow could probably be attributed to the series of orgasms that had happened on Saturday and Sunday. She felt so good it was a miracle that not everybody could see – or maybe they could but were too polite to say.

Saturday afternoon she and Ranger had finally persuaded each other out of bed. They'd packed some stuff and gone to what he referred to as 'home home'. It had turned out to be a wooden cabin up near Lehigh Gorge state park, a rustic old structure built around a huge round fireplace. You could easily imagine him holing up there during a snow storm. It had no central heating and water came from a well out back.

It had taken some getting used to the slower pace for everything, but she'd enjoyed being there with Ranger, who wore the house like a comfortable coat. She'd learnt a lot of new things about him, because this house was very personal – it had photos and favourite books and a red and cream comforter handmade by his grandmother.

They had spent the rest of the weekend talking and laughing and making love, and any possible combination of those three things, and it had been so wonderful that Monday morning had come as a harsh reality. Ranger had to leave early for Boston and she went to the Monday morning briefing, determined to act as a regular employee. It was likely that the new developments between Ranger and her were already known in the control room, but she was damned if she would allow it to change anything.

Thankfully the only change seemed to be the new favourite word in the vocabulary of the guys – suddenly everything was 'lucky'. She decided for everyone's sanity that she would ignore the reference to 'getting lucky' and just get on with things.

Ranger had returned this Thursday morning, and he would be dealing with paperwork all day. Her day would be busy with last minute Rangeday preparations. He had promised a date and a surprise for tonight, and she was looking forward to finding out what a man like Ranger considered a surprise date. Bungee jumping? Rock climbing? NASCAR racing?

"Have the range-men heard about tomorrow yet?" Tsuy said, drawing her attention back to the present.

"No, I haven't said anything. I was a bit annoyed about some stuff they did, so I didn't tell."

And after that she'd been distracted by Ranger. Come to think of it, none of the guys had so much as mentioned it this week apart from when she emailed them kit-lists. Maybe Tank had had a word with them.

When they got out at the mall they got a shopping cart each and went inside. Her friend was looking preppy today, Stephanie noticed. Her hair in a high ponytail, a navy polo with an image of a sailing ship above her left breast, dark blue jeans and expensive looking boat shoes. She looked very un-Jersey, especially next to her own jeans skirt and kick-ass knee-high boots.

They looked at the shopping list Ella had helped make.

"Bloody hell."

"Yeah. I think we'll start with the beer. Then we can leave the cart at the checkout office while we shop for the rest of the stuff."

"Shame you can't drive your truck around in here, we could use that as cart," Tsuy said. "That's a lot of beer."

"I wanted to rent a keg, but apparently they don't like putting those things on the beach. The sand can ruin everything. We're better off getting a load of cans and digging a hole to keep them cool."

"This is a lot of beer," Tsuy said in awe as they'd stacked all the trays of cans into the cart.

"A lo-o-ot of beer," Stephanie agreed with a grin. Maybe it was a little over the top, but nobody would have to drive home, and she didn't want it to be the kind of party where the beer ran out around midnight. Besides, most of the guys had an alcohol tolerance of epic proportions. Hell, most of the guys were of epic proportions. Especially Ranger...

Don't think about that now. Focus on something else.

"So, how are you and Tank?"

Her friend smiled slightly.

"Good."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. Good? She wanted details.

"Hey, do you know what put him in such a mood last week? It was the day before he went to Boston."

"We had an argument about my trip to New York," Tsuy said as they pushed the heavy cart together. "He thought it was too dangerous and didn't want me to go. I thought he didn't get to make that kind of decisions for me."

"Ah, security experts. They see danger everywhere. Did you work it out before he left?"

"Yes, that night. We compromised."

She briefly considered telling her friend about the incident at work, but suspected that it wouldn't do Tank any favours. Better to stay out of that.

"Hey, does he know you'll be there, tomorrow?"

"Not unless you told him."

"Nope. Should be a nice surprise," she grinned. She'd have to make sure she was near to Tank when he noticed his girlfriend was there. She had seen affection between them, but they were both so low-key that she was hoping to see some real PDA there. Plus she was curious to see how he'd react when he found out Tsuy had known of the plans all along.

Hell, she was curious to find out how any of the guys would react to what she had in store for them.

They filled an entire cart full of chips, dips and nibbles. They also bought juice and other drinks. Stephanie took a bottle of roséé for herself and a bottle of sparkly water to mix with it. It was a tip from Ella to drink wine, but not get to the point of falling-down drunk. OR to the point of passing out

"Hey, do you want sakè? Actually, have you decided if you want to stay the night?"

"If you don't mind sharing a tent..."

"I'm not going to share one with Ranger, that's for sure!" she said, and Tsuy's look of relief said she'd hit the nail on the head. "It's a company thing. I'm trying to get rid of the image that I only work there because Ranger and I..."

Tsuy saved her from finishing that sentence.

"Thomas doesn't understand why I don't want to kiss in public."

"Not at all?"

"Well... a kiss is all right. But not a kiss, if that makes sense."

"Ah yes, no tongue when other people can see."

Tsuy did a palms-up gesture.

"See? You get it. He doesn't."

"Most of the guys at Rangeman are like that. I think it's an army thing. They're so used to not having any privacy that they don't really get what the problem is."

The other woman nodded while she eyed up the isle with the crisps and nibbles.

"If we'll share a tent I'll stay the night. I planned to go to my friend Joanne—"

"She's the one with the horses?"

"Yes. It's not far, so I'll drop by between trainings, and then I'll come over in the evening."

"Cool. Do we have your drink in here? It's the privilege of the shopper to get exactly what she wants to drink herself."

"I'll get some grapefruit juice. I don't really drink alcohol."

"Not at all?" she could have sworn that her friend usually drank sakè over dinner.

"I have no alcohol tolerance. It makes me ill. Sakè is the only thing I can stand, and only at dinner. I'll bring some."

"Anything but sakè makes you ill, straight away?"

Tsuy nodded. "Apparently it's a genetic thing."

"That sucks."

"Especially for the people who don't like anyone sober around, to remember everything," the smaller woman said with the flash of a grin.

Two store employees were helping them load the three very full carts into the back of the Hilux when Stephanie's phone rang. It was Lester.

"Hey Bombshell, are you near the bond office?"

"Kind of, why?"

"I need someone to pick up a file, and I can't spare anyone here right now."

"Sure, no problem."

"Hey Tsuy, do you mind if we run an errant before I drop you off?"

"Not at all. Don't have much to do before tonight."

They finished organising all the stuff in the back of the truck and put the hard cover over it.

"Are you seeing Tank tonight?"

Her friend smiled slightly.

"I thought you had this rule about dating in daytime?"

They got into the cab and Stephanie rolled over the engine.

"I came to my senses," Tsuy shrugged. "If I want to make my whole family happy, just dating in daytime isn't going to cut it."

" I finally got to that point too. If I wanted to make my mother happy..."

"...you wouldn't be happy, and because of that, she wouldn't be happy either?" Tsuy supplied.

"Exactly."

"I just have to be in the bond office for a moment. Want to come in?"

"Sure."

Connie was at her desk painting her nails bright fuchsia. Lula was filing in a shiny silver mini-skirt and a faux-leather plunge top. Her hair was done up with silver beads and clicked softly while she worked. The overall effect was... stunning. There was just no other word for it. Stephanie felt Tsuy pause a fraction of a second when she took Lula in.

"Hey girls," she greeted. "Just dropping by to pick something up for the guys. This is Tsuy."

Tsuy stepped forward and shook hands with Connie and then Lula.

"Pleased to meet you."

"You the one who worked the self defence wonders on our girl here?" Lula replied, hand on her hip, looking the other woman up and down.

"I teach her," Tsuy evaded. Her voice was soft and cool, making Lula sound even louder by comparison.

"And I hear you been teaching Tank too!" There was a barb in the word 'teaching', and Stephanie frowned. She'd realised that these two women didn't have much in common, but she hadn't expected problems in the couple of minutes they would be in the office.

Tsuy had taken a step back, creating more space between them. Standing opposite Lula she seemed even more upper class – expensive deck shoes, sailing polo, British accent more noticeable all of a sudden. Quite out of place in the dingy bonds office. It wasn't hard to see why Lula felt the need to assert herself.

"I don't teach Thomas," Tsuy answered softly, just a hint of edge in her voice. "There is no need; he is quite proficient."

Stephanie saw Lula's nostrils flare, and realised she had never heard Tsuy call Tank Tank. It was always Thomas. She suddenly wondered why, but shoved the question to the back of her mind when Lula opened her mouth to answer.

"Connie, can you get me that file? Lester said it was urgent," she said out loud, hoping to get out of there before Lula went into full-blown rhino mode. She had the feeling that though Tsuy was into non-confrontational living, she wouldn't be backing down. Connie nodded and pulled a thick file out of a drawer.

Stephanie took the file, called a goodbye, and went to the door. Tsuy turned around and followed her out. Stephanie grimaced because the idea that she was dismissed by the smaller woman wouldn't calm Lula any, but at least they were out of there.

The ride to the Rangeman office was silent. She wanted to ask what the hell that was all about, but Tsuy was silent, closed off. She recognised the vibe from Ranger and knew it was no use to ask right now. She did, however, have another question.

"Why do you always call Tank Thomas?"

It was silent for so long that she thought she wouldn't get an answer at all. Finally Tsuy explain ina low voice:

"To my people... a name is also a description." She was silent again, and Stephanie decided to try to draw her out. This didn't seem the right note to end the day on.

"So when you call him Tank..." she trailed off, waiting.

"Then I call him a crude, imprecise weapon."

"Right." It made more sense now. "And if he calls you Ninja?"

"'Ninja' comes from the roots of skill, and stealth. It is a compliment."

She pulled the car into the Rangeman garage, and got out with the files.

"You coming?"

Tsuy gave a small shake of her head.

"You're gonna meet all the guys tomorrow – might be nice to meet some of them ahead of time?"

"I've met enough new people for today."

Is she worried she'll get a repeat of what just happened? Stephanie pondered in the lift. She'd never considered that Tsuy might be insecure about meeting new people. She always seemed so composed that it was hard to imagine. But maybe her reaction to unsettling encounters was to act remote, step back, speak in a cool, soft voice. To withdraw.

In other words, the exact opposite of what Lula did when she felt insecure. Small wonder that those two clashed almost instantly.

It probably didn't help that Lula used to have quite a crush on Tank, who had known but never taken her up on it.

She dropped off the files and got back into the truck. Tsuy was sitting quietly, perhaps deep in thought, and they drove back to the dojo in silence.

"Are you still coming tomorrow?" she asked when the car came to a stop in front of the dojo. "It won't be like at the bond office."

Tsuy nodded, and said goodbye. It didn't occur to Stephanie until she was halfway back to the office that that nod could have been an agreement with the first, or the second thing she had said.

She thought for a long moment and then punched a number on her mobile phone. It was answered after two rings.

"Go."

"Hey Tank, can you talk?"

"Sure Steph, I'm in my car. What's up?"

"Err... I'm about to tell you a secret."

She heard him chuckle silently.

"I always encourage that."

"Tsuy's going to be there tomorrow, to make photos."

He was silent for a moment, perhaps thinking about the implications.

"She knows what we're going to do?"

"Err, yes."

"The acting talent! So why this sudden confession?"

"I kind of need your help. She went with me to do the shopping this afternoon, and we went to the bond office to get some files for Lester. And... she ran into Lula."

He made a 'go on' sound.

"They're like polar opposites. It turned... ugly... within two sentences."

"Okay..." he was silent for a moment, and she imagined he was trying to wrap his head around the concept. "...What does this have to do with tomorrow? Lula won't be there, right?"

"No, but Tsuy seemed pretty rattled, and I'm kind of worried that she's decided against meeting a load of new people."

"Ah. I'll see what I can do. Thanks for the heads-up."

"Hey, white girl."

"Hey Lula." She'd been expecting this phone call.

"Why'd you go and bring her in here?"

"Lula—"

"—we don't need no snooty rich girls around the place. You upgrading your friends?"

"Lula! Of course not. Can't I make a new friend without losing an existing one?"

It was silent for a moment, as if she'd derailed a rant.

"Just don't bring her along. We got no room at the office for little snobby girls judging me and waving Tank in my face."

Ah, so that was the real sore point. Tank.

"Why would she judge you?"

"Don't gimme that, Steph! She was all stepping back, giving me that LOOK. Like she was wondering from what rock I crawled out under."

"Lula, Tsuy's not like that. I think the only thing she judged you on, was the way you were trying to bite her head off before she'd hardly said a word."

"Yeah, right." Lula was silent for a moment, and Stephanie wondered how such an inoffensive person as Tsuy had managed to push all her friend's buttons.

"At least I don't have to wonder what she got that I don't," Lula finally said, sounding a little calmer. Stephanie doubted that Tank's choices had anything to do with background or status or possessions, but maybe it would be easier for Lula to convince herself of that right now.

"Lula, you're happy with Hal, right?" it was silent, so she continued, "Because he dropped me off home last Friday and it was clear that he's very happy to have you."

"Yeah..." more silence. It was a rarity with Lula. "You know what? You're right. Screw Tank, and screw his pretty skinny Yacht Club girl. If that's the kind of woman he wants, I ain't got no use for him anyway. I'm so over this."

She wondered if the other woman had heard how that sounded, and kept silent for a long moment, hoping Lula's ears would catch up with her brain.

"Yeah, yeah. I know that sounded bitter as hell. I just felt rejected all over again, you know? I'll get over it. And I still don't like her."

"That's okay. I doubt she'll ever voluntarily come into the office again."

"Well... good. Gotta go girl, see ya!"

"Mmm."

She put down her fork and grinned at Ranger. He shot her an answering smile. They were sitting on the padded bench-seat of a corner booth in Rosselini's.

"That was amazing."

"I kind of noticed that."

In an act of bravery... or insanity... they had agreed that they would choose each other's dinner courses. So far he seemed to have enjoyed his carpaccio with parmesan, salad and pine nuts. He'd picked a salad with smoked chicken and honey-mustard sauce for her.

"Wait 'till you see what I picked you for main course."

Ranger started to answer and then suddenly stopped, a hand going to his pocket. His phone was buzzing. He shot her an apologetic glance, took it out and flipped it open, grimacing when he recognised the caller number.

"Yo."

"I was assured this would take place after the weekend."

"You'd better... I will be back in Trenton tomorrow morning."

He listened to a long and fervent explanation, and rolled his eyes at her. Despite the disappointment of possibly losing him for the evening, she grinned.

"It had better."

He disconnected and swore under his breath.

"Not good?" she asked the obvious.

"I'm sorry, Babe. The situation in Boston has changed and it's all going to go down tonight."

There were a thousand things she could say, but none of them would help the matter in any case, so she left it. She moved over so she could lean against him, half listening while he called Tank.

"Yo, it's me. It's ex-vent time in Boston."

"That's what I said... let's hope so."

"Flying... yeah. Tsuy with you? One moment."

He turned to her.

"Babe, I have tickets for a thing tonight... do you want to go with Tsuy instead?"

She nodded, curious what 'a thing' would turn out to be. Didn't matter – anything would be better than sitting alone all evening, praying he'd be safe, praying he'd just turn up the following morning. And since Tsuy wasn't used to this sort of thing happening, it'd probably be good to hang out together tonight.

"The girls can hang out together. Rosselini's. Yeah... my car. That works. See you."

He disconnected, and she listened as he called control to arrange a plane readied and an overnight bag to be brought over. Finally he put the phone on the table in front of him. Then the next moment she was plastered against his side, his lips on hers, and he was stealing her breath with his intensity. It was scorching and mercifully brief, or she might have start groping him in full view of the Burg.

"What does ex-vent mean?" she said when she'd caught her breath a little.

"We used to work with a guy called Simon. He was fond of saying that the excrement had hit the ventilator."

She grinned despite her disappointment over his impending departure.

"What happens now?"

"Tank and Tsuy are coming over here with Tsuy's car. Tank and I go to the airport, and we'll leave you girls to have dinner."

"Okay..."

"...and it's going on my account, so no paying for anything."

She kissed him, trying to enjoy the moment instead of focussing on the fact that he'd be leaving soon. After a couple of seconds it started to work and the slow, sensuous touch of his hands on her back made her sigh with pleasure. She could almost climb into his lap, make it a full-body kiss...

Suddenly someone cleared his throat quite close to her ear. She jumped, breaking the kiss with a little yelp. Ranger and Tank laughed softly. Tsuy and Tank had squeezed into the booth as well, putting the men on the outside.

"Hey Bombshell, I'm here to arrange your partner exchange," Tank said with a grin. "I'm taking the old guy, and here—" he put his arms around Tsuy and kissed her temple, "—is the replacement."

"You have to watch out, you know," Stephanie said. "I might not want to give her back."

Both men took in a quick, deep breath at that. Stephanie looked at Tsuy and gave her an innocent shrug and a wink. Men. They were so predictable.

Ranger composed himself and put an envelope on the table, and then he and Tank got up and left. The abruptness of their departure no longer surprised her. Ranger had explained that stretching the goodbyes in this sort of situation only made it more difficult for everybody. Now that she felt comfortable with her feelings for him, and secure in his feelings for her... even though he hadn't told her, she could understand that sentiment.

"Dinner and a show? You're getting classy in your old age," they heard Tank comment as the men walked out. At just that moment the waiter brought the main courses, so it was a while before the women spoke again.

"Does this happen a lot?"

"Not that often, thank God," Stephanie said. "Usually when it's a night off, someone else handles the emergencies."

"Only this one couldn't be handled by anyone else?"

"Yeah." She spotted the envelope and picked it up. Inside were two tickets for the Lion King musical.

"Oh my god."

"He's sending us to see that?" Tsuy had an incredulous smile on her face.

"Yeah. Good seats, too. You want to go?"

"Of course! I've never been to a musical. I grew up on Kabuki and Noh, Japanese theatre."

"I thought you lived in London for a while."

"Near London, but by the time I could have travelled to West End on my own, I lived on a ship, safely away from the temptation of London. My father didn't approve of Western musicals."

Or much western influence at all, it seemed. Stephanie wondered how someone that traditional had come to live abroad – but then, maybe living abroad had confirmed the traditional opinions. It was said that the Burg was more Italian in some matters than Italy itself.

They shared a pineapple with mint icecream for dessert, and then lingered over coffee, discussing anything but what Ranger and Tank would be getting up to over the course of the night. Stephanie didn't exactly know, and was glad the musical would serve as a distraction from thinking too closely about it.

"Tank rode in this?" she asked as she opened the passenger door of the Mini. The seat was all the way back.

Tsuy nodded. "He was surprised that he fit, but these things are like the Tardis – bigger on the inside than on the outside."

That wasn't what had surprised Stephanie though. Tank had once said that he let women drive in bed sometimes, but never in a car. Guess he'd been playing up the bad boy image. Tsuy definitely seemed to bring out the softie in him.

She mentally washed out her brain. Tank and softie in the same sentence? He'd never be a softie. He was still quiet, strong, tough-as-nails ex-Ranger Tank. She'd just never seen tenderness in his eyes like when he looked at Tsuy.

The reason that she felt secure in Ranger's feelings for her was that she'd seen it in his eyes when he looked at her. Funny that she hadn't recognised it until she'd seen it in Tank.

"Do you feel prepared for tomorrow?" she asked when they were on their way. Partly to fish about if Tank had broached the subject, partly to distract herself from Tsuy's kamikaze driving style.

"I guess so. I was a little... rattled... earlier. I don't want to give you the feeling that you have to chose between Lula and I."

"It's okay, I don't... I won't. You just got off on the wrong foot. A next time—"

"There won't be a next time."

"Why not? If you both would let me explain..." but how could she, when she didn't really understand why two of her friends had reacted so hostile to each other? It wasn't just about Tank. It was everything, but she couldn't define it.

"This is where we hit the cultural differences," Tsuy said after a long silence. "If I don't get along with someone, I remove myself from the situation and avoid it in the future. Western people always want to talk about everything."

"Yeah, I guess we do. I'm not going to push you from that course of action, but I'd still like to explain you something."

Tsuy nodded, her eyes on traffic. Stephanie took that to mean that unlike Ranger in his zone, she was still listening.

"Lula hasn't been with Hal for very long yet. Before, she had a thing for Tank. He knew, but never took her up on it. She finally figured it wasn't going to happen and moved on." She paused a moment, feeling bad for talking about her friend like this. But if it would help cool down the hostility... "and all of a sudden you're here, and you're everything she's not, and you're with him."

"She's everything I'm not, too."

"Yeah, but you're not insecure about who you are."

"It's actually a little tiring—" Tsuy downshifted the Mini to three and roared past a minivan, shoehorned the little car into a gap, and shifted gear back to four, "—that people assume they are the only ones with insecurities."

She was reminded of an earlier conversation. Just because Tsuy didn't show things on the outside, didn't mean it wasn't there.

"Point taken. What I meant is that because you are so different... I think she felt rejected all over again."

Tsuy tilted her head, considering this, and Stephanie decided to shut up. Maybe it would help... maybe they would never meet again. Maybe a spark of understanding was all she could hope for.

"Did you like it?" she asked when they were back in the car. The other woman had been very quiet all through the musical and afterward. Stephanie had a hard time telling if that was because she disapproved of the style or if it was for some other reason.

Tsuy was focussed on traffic. It took a long moment for her to react.

"Like it?"

"The musical? You're so quiet."

"I'm still…"

Enthralled? Enraged? Mind-boggled? Disgusted? Undecided?

The Mini zoomed past a big SUV, weaving in and out of traffic like a hornet.

"Overwhelmed. The music… the costumes... the dancing. Just… wow."

"You're going to drag Tank along to more musicals now?" she grinned.

"I don't think there's any dragging him anywhere," she said. "I might be tempted to try though."

They were both silent for a moment, and Stephanie noted the time on the car clock. 10:43 PM. Whatever Ranger and Tank were doing, they would be in the middle of it now. She spent a moment sending a silent prayer on the off-chance that it would make a difference. Please let them be safe.

"Can you drop me at the office? I'm staying there tonight. Makes it easier to leave early tomorrow." She'd just planned to spent the night in Ranger's arms rather than just in his bed.

Please let Ranger and Tank be back in time and in shape to be a part of tomorrow.

"What time are you up tomorrow?" she asked when Tsuy idled at the curb in front of the office.

"I'm usually up by six."

"Okay, I'm sure Tank will let you know if he can, but just in case, I'll let you know how things turn out, okay?" no need to define what 'just in case' was. Could be anything from ambulances and intensive care to broken phones and exhausted sleep.

"I'd appreciate that," Tsuy said.

Stephanie got out of the little car and stood in the open door for a long moment, leaning down to look at her friend. She wanted to say something optimistic, but found herself unable to think of words that didn't sound trite. Tsuy seemed to have the same problem, and after a long moment she simple reached out her hand. Stephanie took it and squeezed it briefly, and that simple contact made her feel a little better somehow.

"See you tomorrow."

The closed the car door and watched the car zoom off, wondering if she'd manage any sleep at all.

To be continued…

Feedback very welcome, as always.