Chapter 40

RPOV

We had an address for where Allegro, Edgar and his brother could be hiding out which made me feel easier that maybe this whole thing would be over soon. That Steph would be safe. I could understand that they would be afraid that Steph could identify them but now that we knew exactly who they were and how they had operated she wouldn't be the focus of their attention anymore.

So why did I feel so uneasy as I went through the plans with the men? Why did I feel that no matter how well planned we were that it wouldn't be enough? We had the map for the surrounding area so could keep a watch for anyone who went in or out. Hector had provided the plans for the building and assured us that they were up to date. He'd even managed to source out where any underground sewers were in case they tried to circumvent out surveillance. Everything was under control, except for me.

I'd found Steph up on seven before I'd left but even seeing her didn't bring with it the usual calm that I experienced. Maybe her being so nervous was rubbing off on me, though I hated that me going out in the field was making her nervous for me. I did know that Steph was with Hal watching the monitors as we left the garage, each team taking a different route to their assigned positions. It was probably a good job that Steph hadn't suggested that she be part of the surveillance because I was pretty sure that she'd have been bored.

I was teamed up with Tank when a message came through on my phone, confusing me because there was no id to identify who it was and I was totally confused as to what it was saying. There was no id to say who the message had come from.

"Trap, but maintain surveillance. Need Hector"

I read the message out to Tank to see if he had any ideas or if like me he thought that it might be a joke.

"Who knows that we're here?"

A good question and as far as I knew only the men here with me, Steph and Hector who was monitoring any comms.

"No one"

"It's someone who knows what we're doing, and I don't like that whoever it is, is suggesting that it's a trap"

I didn't either. Could Allegro, Edgar or Eldrich be responsible for contacting me in the hope that it would distract us?

"Team 1 to base, come in"

I decided to contact Hector and give him a sit rep even though it was ten minutes early.

"Base to team 1"

I looked at Tank as I recognized Miguel's voice coming through the comms surprised as to what had happened to Hector.

"Team 1. Sit rep"

I waited for several seconds for Miguel to respond, that uneasy feeling coming back to me.

"Fuck this"

I said as I tapped off my ear comm and brought my phone back out. I found Hector's number and was waiting impatiently for him to respond.

"Jefe"

"What the hell is going on?"

I needed to know why Hector had abandoned his post and why he hadn't informed me. I was annoyed and okay, I shouldn't have broken protocol by calling him but what the hell else was I supposed to do.

"They know that we're watching, that's what they want. They issued a threat to Estefania, her father and you and the men. Don't worry we have it in hand. Remain in position until you hear directly from me"

I was left looking at the phone after hearing Hector say that. What the hell did he mean that they'd issued a threat to Steph? When did that happen, after we'd left? Or was that why she was so nervous when I'd been to see her. I slammed my fist against the steering wheel which of course had Tank giving me a strange look. I ignored him as I tried once again to get some control, but now I was mad at Steph. I thought that she'd changed how she approached a problem that we'd even started to talk to each other. Why the hell had she not told me what was going on? Didn't she think that I could handle the trouble that she was in? Now she had Hector doing god knows what and without any backup.

"Rangeman you better talk"

Looking at Tank I hoped that he could see how annoyed I was so I took him through what Hector had said and then waited expecting him to agree with me.

"Looks like she used her head and didn't go running off on her own, thinking that she could sort it out"

I was still looking at Tank as he said that, totally surprised by his reaction. How did he work that one out?

"Look Ranger, someone is threatening her father and told her that you and Rangeman are at risk of getting hurt. If she'd told you, what would you have done?"

I opened my mouth and then closed it as the thoughts went through my head. I know that I would have insisted that she stayed in Rangeman and let me deal with it. How would that have played out?

"You figured it out yet?"

"I'd have planned on assaulting that building thinking that Frank was inside"

"Yeah, and totally fucked up what Steph and Hector have planned. I'm betting that building is booby trapped and Frank is nowhere near here. If we're seen leaving here, then it might put Steph in danger"

I leant my head back against the headrest as I went through what Tank was saying asking myself why they needed Steph.

I was in my zone as I sat there, well I was trying to get into my zone, that state of mind when I was hypersensitive to what was going on around me, while I remained perfectly immobile. It wasn't working very well because this was the last place that I wanted to be. I gave up looking at the time because it never seemed to change so when I heard my phone ringing in the silence of the car, I have to admit that it surprised me.

"Talk"

"On your phone, follow only. Disappear, rats are on their way"

I closed the phone and opened the app that showed me where Steph's tracker usually was surprised to see it moving down Hamilton Avenue. If Steph had been taken by Allegro and the brothers, then I needed to be discreet with how I followed her, though I was sure that Hector would keep her in his sights at all times.

"Order the teams to discreetly pullout and return to base. The police are on their way"

If Tank was surprised, then he never showed it as I started the engine and began to slowly reverse from the alley that we'd been hidden in. I only turned on the lights as we pulled out onto a major road and was passing my phone to Tank.

"Transfer the map onto the screen"

I asked as I watched behind us. I knew the team would take different exits and seeing the blue flashing lights coming toward us hoped that they were well away from the site.

"How did they know?"

I didn't answer because I had no answer but maybe Hector had something to do with that. I only hoped that the place wasn't rigged to explode when it was entered and that the police went in carefully.

"Is that Steph?"

I nodded my head watching the blue circle as it moved toward the west side of the city. In my mind I was working out where she might be going and if Frank would be there at her final destination.

"Team 2 to team 1. You have two cars on a parallel route"

I shook my head at hearing Santos and what he was saying. Somehow Hector had managed to mobilize two teams as backup.

"She's pulled off the 295, could she be heading toward the airport?"

I'd noticed that and it had that feeling of fear run through me whenever Steph was in danger. If she was heading toward the airport that same question came to me again. Why, why would they want Steph or did this man Eldrich really hate Steph? Was he still under the illusion that she was the only person who could identify him? As I came off the 295 I slowed right down because the tracker looked to have stopped. This SUV was too obvious to drive by in, so I pulled onto a side street and got out of the car. Tank was beside me as we skirted through a parking area to the edge of a building, pleased that it gave a view of the road. My heart hitched as I caught sight of Steph being dragged into a van that was stopped across the road. Two men got into the front and we watched as it drove off away from us. Damn it had we been too late, which had me wondering if Frank was inside the van with Steph or were they driving to where they were holding him?

Back at the car we were soon following the map again, pleased when a tracker was still on the screen and as I'd suspected they were heading into the area where the airport was located.

"It's stopped again. Looks as though there are some old buildings there, maybe from before they upgraded"

He was right but I still wasn't too sure what was happening, and I needed to know. Parking the car away from the building Tank and I carefully made our way toward the building where Steph's tracker had been.

"Team 1 to team 2. Take positions"

I knew that Santos and the other team would circle around the building and find positions to see inside so I continued to the large opening keeping to the side before looking inside. Tank was on the other side, both of us with our guns drawn as we took in what was there. The van was parked up, but the doors were closed with no apparent movement from inside. A quick look at the tracker app had Steph moving away from us so I carefully went to the back of the van and opened one of the doors quietly. Seeing Frank Plum resting against the side took me by surprise, especially as he seemed so still. Shit I could only hope that he wasn't seriously hurt or worse. Tank kept watch as I climbed inside and as I approached him, I was quietly saying his name.

"Frank, Frank"

"Wondered when you'd get here. Where the hell is Stephanie? I'm fine, go find her"

I didn't need telling twice as I started to exit the van.

"Get a team to sort him out. I need to find Steph"

"Shit Ranger. They're dragging her onto a transport plane"

Came through from Santos. I was running back through the door that we'd come in to and moving around the side of the building. Sure enough, a grey transport plane was sat there, the engines just starting up. I had no idea where the other teams were and as the rear door started to rise, I knew that I needed to be on that plane. I could only hope that no one was watching as I ran for the rising platform and literally rolled so that my body was just inside as it closed. At least the noise emanating from the engines was loud enough to block any sound that I might have made as I crawled down the now closed platform.

The hold contained several crates that were strapped down to the floor so maybe Allegro and her friends had managed to bribe their way into getting a ride, though where the hell the plane was going to was a mystery to me. I was crouched down behind a crate as I felt the plane begin to move, the whole structure of the body shaking with the stress coming from the engines. I had no strategy for what to do next, no plan that I could follow and had no idea if there were any friendlies on board with me. I knew that I'd left Tank with Frank Plum at the van and had heard Santos telling me that he'd seen Steph being dragged onto the plane but had no idea where Hector was or if he was the only backup that Steph had.

I inched to the edge of the crate at the side of the plane and not seeing anyone moved forward until I was behind the next one. The sides of the plane had netting running down its length, but I saw no one ahead of me which could mean that they were either on the other side or possibly up front in the cockpit. To me the plane was moving at a steady speed probably heading to the end of the runway which meant that I would need to do something very soon. No way did I want this plane to take off. That was when I could hear raised voices ahead of me so I made the decision to crawl to the next crate in order to get a better idea of what was happening and maybe get an idea of who was here in the hold.

"Why bring her on board?"

"You're asking me that? That bitch knows who we are. If you'd done what I'd told you to do, then we wouldn't be having to run and hide"

"That was years ago, she wouldn't have remembered us, let alone have been able to identify us"

"She's just like the rest of them"

Hearing the two brothers shouting at each other meant that I knew they were somewhere near the front of the plane so I looked across to the central crate, catching sight of the back of the brother who I assumed was Edgar. That was when I caught sight of Steph, sat on the floor with her knees tucked to her side and her arms tied together above her head onto the netting. She looked unharmed as she sat there, her head moving back and forth to where the brothers were talking and her ankle. I was curious with what she was doing because to me it looked as though she was up to something.

"You can't do that"

"Just watch me bro. All these years you've been happy to ignore that it's been me that cleans up the shit"

"There are other ways of dealing with people, Eldrich"

"Another slut who knows far too much and will sell us out"

My attention was split between listening to the argument that sounded as though it had come to blows between the brothers and watching Steph. My hope was that their fighting, which was loud and physical, would be enough of a distraction for me to get to Steph and free her. Even as I started to move the sound of a gun firing had me stop and remove a second gun from my ankle. What surprised me was that Steph now had a knife in her hand and was cutting herself loose.

"What the fuck is going on back here?"

That was a different voice and to me sounded as though the pilot was becoming concerned with what was going on.

"Getting rid of the trash. Get back up front and get this plane off the ground"

I watched as Steph made her move, as she slowly started to inch along the floor with her hands giving the impression that she was still tied up. Wanting to know who had been shot I looked around the crate to see two bodies laid on the floor, one of them being Allegro. That was when Eldrich started to move, and I had a horrible feeling that he was heading toward Steph. She must have seen him coming because she was suddenly on her feet running toward the back of the plane with Eldrich close behind her. Even as I quickly moved to intercept him I could hear the sound of him muttering to himself not sure if he intended Steph to hear him or not.

"Fucking whores, all of them. Never trust them because they always screw you over. Well not this one"

This guy sounded like he had a real issue with women but no way was he going to hurt my Babe. I was on my feet and throwing myself at his body, my arms locked tight around his knees while my shoulder hit him squarely on his thighs. We both went to the floor, but his reactions were fast and with his free arm he was soon using his fists to dislodge me. I needed my arms to fight him back so released his legs, only for him to get in a kick on the side of my head before he was crawling away from me.

I thought that Steph would have made it away from us, but how wrong I was. I could see her laid on her back with Eldrich close to her. Those famous boots that she sometimes wore were kicking away at Eldrich while he tried to grab hold of her and that was when he aimed his gun at her. She froze, leaning back on her arms, so that was when I made sure that my gun was pointed at his head.

"Eldrich, it's over. Put the gun down"

I said loudly as I got to my feet so worried that he'd ignore me. I knew that he was capable of shooting Steph and probably injuring her badly before my bullet could reach him and maybe he did as well because it seemed that he just wasn't listening to me. His gun was still pointing at Steph as his other hand kept hold of her ankle and I could see the fear on her face. I knew that she'd faced men who had wanted to kill her before but it seemed that Eldrich scared the shit out of her and to be honest me as well.

"I remember now, though I was young at the time so maybe it's a bit vague. When you first moved to the Burg your mother was with you. She was nice, she used to say hello to me and my friend. Then she stopped and then she just disappeared"

I wasn't sure if Steph saying that was to give me time to come up with a plan to get her away from Eldrich or not, but it did give another person the time to come up behind Steph. Maybe it surprised Steph, who knows but the next thing that I knew was that Eldrich had managed to lunge at Steph. His gun fired which had my heart stopping and my breath staying in my lungs. I was pulling Eldrich off of Steph expecting him to put up a fight but instead his body was limp as I rolled him away from her. I was looking down at Steph as she lay there, so still and panicked at the blood covering her chest.

"Babe, look at me"

I was totally panicking at the amount of blood that was there and at how quiet she was. I couldn't lose her now, we'd come so far. Was this karma's way of retaliating for the past deeds of my life? No, not this. Steph didn't deserve this, she was the only thing in my life that was good, that was pure and innocent. She just couldn't be dead.

"Babe"

Was I shouting at her, trying to get a reaction from her? Damn sure I was and as I saw her eyes flutter open I began to feel some hope.

"Get the medics"

I shouted as I pushed my hands flat over her chest.

"Is it over?"

She whispered just loud enough for me to hear. I was trying to frantically lift her sweater to see where she was hurt when she looked down and I suppose noticed what I was doing and why. That was when she sat up and there was the sound of metal hitting the floor.

"It's not my blood, Carlos, I'm okay"

It was Hector who was crouched down beside Eldrich's prone body, and it was him who picked up the knife and wiped the blade down Eldrich's shirt.

"Is he dead?"

As Hector nodded his head to Steph, it was then that I realized what had happened. She'd had the knife in her hand when Eldrich had lunged at her and the blade had sliced through his skin, between his ribs and killed him. I was so relieved that I was pulling her hard to my chest, feeling so emotional. Damn it loving her was so hard at times because I now knew that I wouldn't survive if anything happened to her.

"Who got shot?"

I heard Steph ask so releasing my tight hold on her, but keeping her close to me, I turned to see the colonel stood behind me wearing a dark blue sweater and trouser.

"Allegro, but she'll survive"

I lifted Steph to her feet and looking beyond the crates saw Santos and Ram holding up a very unsteady Edgar. His face had blood running down it and there were already bruises forming on his cheeks. Santos was none too gentle as he cuffed Edgar's arms behind his back and the way that Edgar winced with pain, I assumed that his ribs and body had taken a beating as well. So much for brotherly love. The sound of the ramp being lowered had me aware that the engines were slowly being run down so I knew that it was time to get out of here, besides I was pretty sure that Steph would want to know how her father was.