The Missing Piece in Ranger's Life

oOoOo

Chapter 4

Ranger POV

I know, I took a risk by going out this afternoon, like in broad daylight. But with my beard, a baseball cap, and the dark flannel shirt, I was pretty certain my disguise was more than adequate. I wasn't seen, or at least, I was not so conspicuous, just a regular guy lurking behind the dumpsters. Except, that with Stephanie sensing my proximity, Tank and Hector, and Lester too, were very quick to pick up on her reaction. They scanned the surrounding area surreptitiously but gave no indication that they spotted me. Then finding Hector already at the van was really no surprise. He's so stealthy. Tank was sure to have spotted and recognised the Ford Escort. It was part of our contingency plan by having another one of the safe houses nearby, with ready transport, in case of an emergency. Not that it was an emergency, really … but I am so glad I did emerge and witness her prowess. It set my heart pacing watching her in action.

Hector grinned and knuckle bumped me as he climbed in.

"Nice beard, hermano," Hector grinned at me from the back of the Ford Escort. Was I surprised? Meh. I wasn't expecting him but that man moves like smoke. That's one of the many reasons why he's on the team.

"Estefania, eh? Es buena." His grin was wicked. He was happy as he gave me a rare man hug.

"Hermano. So good to see you."

He nodded then handed me the backpack he was carrying. Ha. They must have expected to see me at some time. They probably had it stashed in one of the SUVs ready for a quick handover when the opportunity arose. Tank knows me too well. That's why he's my second in command. He always has my back. He knows exactly what I need. This fucked up situation really has me so pissed off.

Channelling my anger and rage into the punching bags at the safe house, with my good arm, and kick boxing the kick bag, did give me some tension release. But, in reality, I wanted to take someone out, squeeze their neck until bones started breaking and crushing. Visualising that fucktard Morelli's neck was a very satisfying image. Control, Manoso. It's frustrating and we all felt that rage. Being betrayed and abandoned like that after enduring all that FUBAR shit in the jungle, knowing that they, the person or persons who wanted us dead, were determined to have us not just MIA, but PKIA, Presumed Killed In Action. Yeah. Motherfuckers. It is infuriating, and exasperating not knowing. That someone can hold your life in the palm of their hand was unnerving to say the least. We had to channel that rage into more constructive energy. Bitterness does not resolve issues of this kind.

I shook my head and came back to Hector who had been watching me intently, recognising the rage beneath the surface. He nodded knowingly and grinned at my far away drift. He understood. He was not a military man, but he was a skilled and shrewd hunter and fighter, with an amazing arsenal of fighting skills and techniques. He had more than street smarts. He was a survivor, and a protector, especially for Stephanie.

"Yes, Stephanie is good." I grinned, agreeing with him and his pride in her.

"Morelli?" he asked with a wild dark look in his dark eyes, his eyebrows raised, nodding his head in question for my acquiescence, while slowly making the neck slitting action.

"Not yet, Hector."

"Si, I will do as you say, but in the meantime, I will keep my knives sharpened."

Without another word, he left through the rear doors. That not was unexpected, since Hector was not one to waste words. By the time I looked out of the window, he had vanished from the scene. That's Hector. I took that as my cue to get back to the safe house.

I drove back via a roundabout route, checking for tails, but none was evident. I knew Tank wouldn't have me tailed, unless he discovered a tail as I departed. I parked the car in the garage and locked up and set the alarm before jogging back to our safe house.

Removing the clothes from my disguise, I tossed the black jeans, the baseball cap and the plaid flannel shirt on the chair in my room. Coming downstairs in more comfortable sweats and a t-shirt with the backpack which contained a laptop, I joined my team with a coffee. They gave me a questioning look. I shrugged my shoulders.

"A present from Hector and Tank."

Both Tank and Hector know me well. I am not one to sit on my ass and twiddle my thumbs. Using the basement gym helped us all with keeping occupied, being mindful of our respective injuries and applying the physiotherapy routines and instructions specified by Doc. He kept a watchful eye on us. The games room was well equipped and helped to pass the time. Fortunately, Miguel, Rex and Thiago were single, so there was no family pining the loss of a beloved father or husband, or boyfriend. The less family distress the better. Pfft. It seems I am the only one with the strong need to be with a loved one, my Babe. Who would have thought that? And they gave me shit for it every time.

Taipan and Doc kept a close watch on our recovery process, removing stitches, checking and changing dressings and massaging muscles to ease the transition to regular mobility. Not only did they tend to our injuries and recovery, they monitored the security taking turns on the night shift patrols in order to keep us safe. We take nothing for granted. Initially they stayed, but after a fortnight they came in for check-ups and brought fresh supplies. Doc gave each of us a specific set of physical therapy exercises, modified for our individual needs and progress of healing. Because Miguel took a shot to the ear, he was having some frustrating issues with balance and vertigo. He was relieved that the ringing was temporary and not developing into tinnitus. No running for him however, but he was permitted to walk on the treadmill. I was not at full running pace while my arm was in a sling, but I was able to remove it, under specific conditions.

They brought fresh fruit, drinks and medications as needed. The ready-made meals had a homemade flavour about them. I knew they weren't Ella-made, but had the same quality. When I asked, Taipan explained that his family owned a restaurant, hence the delicious real food. The salads were so fresh and tasty. Of course, we also took turns to prepare and cook meals but the one armed status of Thiago and I made it a bit of a challenge at first, especially chopping up ingredients. Rex and Miguel could cover that while sitting on a stool near the kitchen centre island. We had to keep ourselves occupied. There were many choices in the freezer as well. Variety was not an issue. They had put a lot of thought into our diet and recovery. I will make sure that they are rewarded for that. We were putting on condition again. Making breakfast and our making lunches we handled easily, often using the prepared meals for evening dinners.

After this afternoon, I am sure that Stephanie knows that I was close by, going by her comments. The power of the tingle is amazing.

Each day we would go through and examine our mission and the people involved, our Handler especially. Using the whiteboard in the conference room was useful as we analysed and mapped various scenarios. This was critical. In the meantime, Tank and the Rangeman team were doing the same. So, we had to bide our time, but still make productive use of our time. It wasn't that we dwelt on the faults of the mission, it was more about trying to pinpoint specifically where and when it went FUBAR. Working backwards was a good strategy.

Our contact and information scenarios were identical. The same Intel came to each of us. Having done a number of missions together was good, and I was comfortable in the knowledge that we were familiar with one another. We trusted each other and knew we could rely on each other to have our backs. Three of our last rescue missions were as this team. They went smoothly, slick and proficient working well as a team. No problems. No hitches. No sudden changes. Other missions together also went according to plan. But, this mission was full of unexpected surprises. One thing for sure, we never presume in our role in these ops. There is no place for complacency. That's what I liked about these guys, they were diligent and always vigilant.

Having the laptop was great especially with all the encrypted protection. Doc instructed, well, he ordered me to get some day time sleep recovery. He knew about my little secret rendezvous, my "night manoeuvres" as he called them. Not so secret, after all. These guys never let up. Instilling some humour into our day was good for morale. All this was great for diversionary discussions and we really needed that distraction for our well-being. I could take one for the team.

Thiago shared his love for the two blue-eyed huskies, which he had projected onto the big screen in the theatre room, using the security afforded by the encryptions on the laptop. Presently, they were in kennels with an army dog trainer buddy of his. He would stir me about who had the better blue eyes. Pfft. There was no argument there! Because he shared some photos and videos of his hilarious 'talking' dogs, I had to show them a photo of my Stephanie. Earlier, I discovered that Hector had included a small file on the laptop with a small selection of Stephanie photos. Beautiful photos. I sighed and suddenly a couple of cushions and wads of paper hit me in the head. Yeah, yeah. I got it bad.

Rex found his pet lizards and bearded dragons. It was fascinating though, with the live food, mostly crickets, specially imported cockroaches, and mealworms, and the whole vivarium set ups. He had created simulated environments like a virtual desert with rocks and sand, and the types of plants that would be in their original habitat. They were interesting, but no blue eyes!

And Miguel? Like Tank, he was into cats. He had four rescue cats, one of which was one of those unusual Sphynx cats, no fur. Weird. Naked. Another was a calico cat, with half a black face. The other two were sisters, white with, would you believe it? Blue eyes! But one had one blue and one green eye. The blue-eyed cat was deaf he explained. All his cats were females. Miguel obviously adored them. Like Tank, he had an entire room dedicated to the cats. Inside this room was amazing, with high ramps, shelves and climbing frames, towers and structures. They were very mischievous. And boxes, simple cardboard boxes which they loved hiding in, sleeping in or leaping into.

I must have drifted off to sleep. I found myself alone, reclined in one of the comfortable theatre chairs. It was a great set up, especially for big army guys like us.

Thinking about Stephanie's reaction this afternoon, made me smile and it gave me further hope. But now I knew, I probably would not be able to just sit in her bedroom, in my bedside chair on my next visit. Damnit. I have to show more control. I hesitated. Do I visit her tonight? Hell yeah! Would Morelli try to show up and harass her? Most likely. I had to trust my Rangeman team to have him under close surveillance, especially after this afternoon's performance.

Sure enough, he had been there, confirmed by the text message I just received from Tank.

"Trash taken care of. Fucker was drunk. Called TPD. Carl & Eddie. Fucker is in the drunk tank."

Well that sorts out that issue. I was excited and took extra care in preparing for my midnight visit. Thiago and Rex laughed at me, nudging Miguel. I stared at them which just made them crack up even more.

"She must be mighty special to have the Mighty Manoso stalking her into the night. Doc nailed it with your 'night manoeuvres'!"

"Yeah, you're so pussy-whipped, man!" Miguel chuckled.

Thiago just smiled. "She's a lucky lady. I have never known you to fall for a woman so heavily. She must be worth it."

I just shrugged it off, with just a raised eyebrow, which made them laugh loudly again. Knowing they were right, I wasn't going to give them any credit for that. Once I was out of their sight I smiled while I jogged to the house with the Ford Escort van. Damn right she's special. Totally worth it. No one has ever had that effect on me.

I find solace in her presence. It's hard to explain so I made no effort to qualify my feelings. I was certainly not going to elucidate on this. They don't need to know. I have been so stupid in the past, keeping her at a distance, at arm's length, but still wanting to hold her closely, tightly, in a never-let-her-go kind of way. It was complicated. Or so I thought. At least, that's what I kept telling myself. I aim to change that. I need her. If she'll have me. I need her in my life, more than just being there. Yeah. Solace. That was exactly what it was.

As I entered the lobby I saw one of the Rangeman SUVs leave the parking lot. A salute and a grin told me it was my cheeky cousin, Lester. They always have her back. I am just so relieved that she maintained her contact with them, her Merry Men.

Silently as usual, I enter her apartment and move into the kitchen. Rex, doing his laps in his wheel, suddenly stops to look at me and comes to the glass to say hello. It makes me smile. He's pleased to see me again. I open the fridge and select some snacks for him which he promptly stuffs into his cheek pouches before disappearing into his soup can. Just a fluffy butt sticking out, but I can hear him crunching on the baby carrots. I shake my head and smile.

Tentatively I approach her bedroom and find I am holding my breath. I do this every time. I shake my head at my own reaction. She's asleep, wearing my t-shirt again and some cute little cheeky knickers. I can't help but smile at that sight. So, so very tempting, not to caress her cheeks, kiss them even. Bite them. Ooh. I growl inwardly. Down boy! So, I sit in my chair quietly and watch her. It is uncanny. I sigh as all the tension escapes. My eyes close momentarily as I relax, just like when I am in a Zen zone, but ultimately better. This nice, overwhelming sensation washes over me as I sit back and just feel her presence. My breathing relaxes.

Peace.

Calm.

Contentment.

Solace.

I steeple my fingers, as I do, and watch and listen to her breathing, absorbing those good feels. She looks so beautiful, the pale moonlight making her skin glow. I realise with each visit how much I have missed her, confirming how much I crave her. I hope she feels the same. If I could have, I would have come every night. But my first concern was her safety, over my selfish needs and desires. Keeping her safe was paramount until we solved this fucked up situation.

I hold my breath.

She stirs. She hums, and turns her body facing me. Her eyes are still closed, and she sighs. Just like I did. Could it be that she has those same feelings when I am near like this?

oOo

TBC

Does Stephanie feel the same? And, what happens next? Will she wake up? Will he sleep in his chair? Is there a watch on her apartment?

Of course, the characters you recognise belong to Ms Janet. Any mistakes are mine alone.