After we got the kids to bed, the Rangeman team met in the dining room. "Steph did some research on Steve, Val's ex-husband. Babe?"
"I found some interesting things, but I just did an overview of his life. Jules, I'm exhausted and after this meeting I want to go to bed. I also want to sleep in tomorrow. However, I suspect that we are going to need this information as soon as we can. Sorry to be dumping this on you, but would it be possible for you to do in-depths tomorrow morning?"
Julie grinned. "Absolutely", she said. "I'll actually start the one on Steve tonight and finish it tomorrow morning. From what you have said so far and the look on your face, it sounds like an interesting one to do and I am itching to find out what is going on."
I laughed. "So are we. From what I have found so far mixed with what I already know, twenty years ago Val and Steve got married. Steve was an accountant, and they moved to California. Ten years ago, according to Val, Steve had an affair with the babysitter and left her for greener pastures. She said that he had left her because he didn't want kids, and he broke up with the babysitter when he found out that she, too, wanted kids. What really happened was that Steve was arrested and put in jail. He'd been fixing the books of the local mob boss and had been arrested for fraud. He was sentenced to twenty-five years, so that tells me that it wasn't a simple fraud charge. It was big, and Steve was in it up to his eyeballs. I have the transcripts of his court appearance, but I have not yet read them.
"He has now served ten years of his twenty-five years but was let out early because he identified and spilled on the Californian mob boss. When he was released, he started to phone Val and flew to Trenton from California. He had been offered a new identity through the WITSEC program, but he turned that option down. I'm not sure why, other than because he wouldn't be able to re-establish ties with Val. I know that I am being a romantic, but for my sister's sake I hope that is the reason.
"The other reason that he could be trying to reconnect with Val is because, before he went into jail, he transferred all investments, bank accounts and property into Val's name. Although it is a fair amount of money - over a million dollars - it is not enough for them to retire but is enough for Steve to want it back. In the meantime, I don't know what he plans on doing for money but I do know that he has tried to contact Vito a few times. I don't know if he is looking for protection or a job. However, I suspect that the Californian mob boss is hot on his tail and I suspect that Steve is in some danger."
"Do you also want me to look into the Californian mob boss as well?" said Julie.
"If you have time, then yes. I think we will have to look at the case that Steve was originally arrested on, the case that he spilled on, and what is happening now. I will help you when I get up tomorrow, but in the meantime if you could start working your way through the three issues that would be helpful. Ideally, I would like an outline of each case prepared, and an in-depth on each of the people involved."
"No problem."
"Do you think he wants to return to California?" said Raphael.
"I don't think we are that lucky", I said. The team started to laugh. "Seriously, the fact that he is contacting Vito makes me think that he is trying to set up shop in Trenton. It also makes me think that he didn't learn his lesson that fraud doesn't pay."
"I don't know if Val is being targeted by Steve because he honestly loves her", said Ranger, "or whether it is because she has a house rented and his name would not be associated with it, or whether it is solely about the money and he wants it back."
"He has told her that he wants to get back together with her, but only if the kids don't come. I don't know if this is a method of protecting the kids or whether he really doesn't like kids."
"Either way", said Ranger, "it is probably better for the kids to be taken care of by Albert. Albert is a kind and gentle man who is doing a good job at raising them. He cares deeply about them and the kids know that, and the kids are far happier at his house than they are at Val's."
"Seeing how Steve and Val are likely in danger", said Grant, "are you going to let them stay in the castle?"
"It certainly explains their deep interest in it", I said. "I don't know what to do. I hate the idea of my sister being in danger, but on the other hand I don't want to be near her myself, nor do I want the children near her." I looked at Ranger as my eyes filled with tears. "There is no upside for me. Whatever option I pick will make me feel bad, and members of my family are going to band together and make me feel worse."
Ranger looked at me and sighed. "Babe, we need to keep our eye on the ball. The children are vulnerable. They are just little, barely more than toddlers. They are good at protecting themselves for three and five-year olds, but against someone who was trained they wouldn't stand a chance. That's the first point. The second point is that, no matter how much of a she-devil you are, you also can't protect yourself easily from someone who is more able-bodied. Because of that, both you and the children should be protected."
I looked down at the table and tried to stem my tears.
"What do you want to do, babe?" said Ranger softly.
I sighed. "Send him back to the States and shoot the plane down on the way."
Ranger grinned as everyone laughed.
"What about if we allow them in the castle on the condition that they stay away from Steph and the kids, and that Steph and the kids have guards on them at all times?" said Hal. "I know that there is no good option for Steph, but that might be the best happy-medium."
Ranger looked at me. "What do you think, babe?"
I sighed. "Honestly, that might be the best option. I don't want the kids to be left alone with him, and I don't want to be near Steve because of the potential for sexual assault, and I don't want to be near Val because of the potential of physical assault. But, despite being concerned about having them in the castle, I don't know if I can kick my sister out when she is in danger. If she wasn't in danger then yeah, I would kick her to the curb. We'll find out more tomorrow after doing the in-depths but in the meantime, it appears as though Val and Steve are in trouble, and I'd feel like a bad person to turn my back on them."
Ranger sighed. "Let me think about it, everybody, and I'll tell you what I have decided when we have breakfast tomorrow. Jules, please send me the in-depths as soon as you get them done. They will likely influence what needs to happen. Also, Jules, can you send some of the names that need to be researched to the Gurus in Trenton? We need to have answers quickly and their help will be useful. I'll call them tonight after Steph goes to bed to put them on standby."
"Sounds good", said Jules.
"Alright, everyone, we'll talk about this again tomorrow after Steph wakes up, and I will think about what we should do. In the meantime, just a reminder. My half of the strike team will be meeting in front of the castle at 0600 to go for a run. Hal's team will be meeting at 1100 to go for a run. Please don't forget to work a weight session into your day. And I think that's about it. Anything else?" He looked around the table. "Okay then, everybody. Have a good evening."
As everybody got up to disperse and wind down their day, Ranger leaned over and kissed my cheek, got up and pushed my chair to the stairs. He moved it over to the side, lifted me, and carried me up the stairs. Kai followed, and together the two of them helped me get ready for bed. Kai gave me the next shot of painkiller and I groaned in relief as it set in. I was so incredibly tired that I felt sick. Ranger held me as I fell asleep.
Several hours later, I started to squirm. In my dreams, the kids were being picked up and muffled with the kidnappers' hands over their mouths. The kidnappers were running away, down the road towards a SUV. The kidnappers threw the kids into the backseat, hopped into the third and front seats, and sped away. The children were crying, although Alix had her plotting face on and I could see her figuring out how to get out of there.
I woke up with a start. My face was wet with tears and I was shaking with terror. "Ranger?" I whimpered. I rolled onto my side and put my hand on Ranger's chest to ground me.
He woke up quickly. "What is it, babe?" he said softly. He pulled my head into his chest and gently massaged my neck as I let go and lost it. He rubbed my back slowly and let me calm down, and as my tears slowed, he said, "tell me."
I detailed my dream, from the beginning to the end. Ranger sighed as I finished. "What do you think we should do?" I said as I whimpered.
Ranger sighed again. "You are going to worry if we don't invite Val and Steve into the castle, aren't you?"
I looked at him in surprise. "I suffer from anxiety, Ranger. There is literally no option that won't make me worry."
Ranger smiled slightly. "I know. What do you think about talking to Steve and Val, explaining that we don't want them around the kids or you, allowing them to stay with a couple of people guarding them to keep them safe. At the same time, we could put a guard on you and another couple of guards on the kids. It would keep everybody safe, keep people separated, and would look after everyone. It will also give the strike team some more practice. It will be challenging, but it could be a win-win scenario for us."
I thought about it a bit. "Okay", I said.
"I'll talk to Hal when I get up, and we'll set up a schedule." My breathing was choppy, and Ranger slowly rubbed my back. "Slow it down, babe", he said. "It will be okay."
"It's just hard, when I'm struggling so much with anxiety."
"I know, babe. You are doing a good job containing your anxiety. I know that it is hard for you, but you are doing a phenomenal job."
"I never realized that anxiety was so crippling. I mean, I did on an intellectual level but until you have lived through it you don't truly understand. However, the work that Eduardo and Kai and Grant and I are doing has been helping, I think. I'm still far more anxious than I normally am, but I don't know if it is related to the burn. I've been struggling for a long time, Ranger. It's been longer than the burn. It's been longer than the hysterectomy. It was from you getting shot."
"But aren't your flashbacks related to the fire? I know that you often suffer from nightmares, but you don't tell me about them. I had just assumed they were related to the fire too."
"The flashbacks are related to the fire. However, the nightmares are often of you carrying Hannah out of the torture hut, and then getting shot. Today was a special one, since it was of the kids. However, I would say that ninety percent of my nightmares are of you getting shot, and they have been since just before you did."
Ranger kissed me on the forehead. "I'm okay, babe. I'm healed now."
"I know. But I keep seeing it, over and over in my dreams. Eduardo figures it is worse now that I am injured, as I rely on you to protect me. I'm anxious because you are my everything and you were hurt, but I am also anxious because you are the person who makes me feel safe, and you can't protect me if you are hurt, and I'm anxious because I can't protect you because of being hurt. I can't shake the thought that you're in danger, and I struggle with it every minute of every day. I'm sorry for not telling you before. It embarrasses me to admit that I am being so selfish."
"I understand that, probably more than most after going through the same thing myself. I'm your partner, babe. It makes me feel good to know that you rely on me so heavily. I rely on you just as heavily. Maybe not physically right now, but emotionally? I don't know what I'd do if you weren't there. Did Kai say that he was increasing your antidepressant to help you with the anxiety?"
"Yes. He increased it two nights ago, but it's too soon to see a difference."
"Yes, but by the time we are going back to Trenton, there should be some difference – and in six weeks there should be a major difference."
I sighed. "Thanks for being my cheerleader."
"We all need them sometimes. Isn't that what you say to me when my anxiety is overwhelming?" I harrumphed. "Thanks for letting me return the favor."
"I'm sorry for waking you."
"First of all, I want to be woken up when you are in distress. Babe, if there is anything I can do, I want to be doing it. Even if the only thing I can do is cuddle you. Second of all, I was going to get up in five minutes anyway, to go for a run with my team. Don't worry about me waking up, as I only woke up ten minutes early. Okay?"
I sighed. "Okay", I said as I closed my eyes, and with Ranger slowly rubbing my back and the smell of his scent to calm me down, I quickly fell back asleep again.
Although I slept in, I still woke up early for me. I had only slept twelve hours which sounded like a lot until you realized that I normally slept fourteen. Growing new skin took a lot out of me, and I was often tired even though I had slept copious amounts.
Kai helped me with my morning routine, and with his help I changed into a pink and white maxi dress and a pink cardigan. I was glad that the muscle tear had healed enough that I was able to do more of my morning routine by myself. I had never known what a luxury it was to be able to wipe my own butt. However, I had been able to heal enough to be able to do that, and I was grateful.
I had also healed enough to be self-conscious about the tufts of hair growing in my armpits. Ranger said that he didn't care, but I hated it. On a practical level, I thought perspiration clung to the hair, making armpit smells more prominent and harder to mask. The anti-perspirant was clinging to the hair rather than getting down to the skin where the smells were being created. I could be wrong about that, but that is what it seemed like to me.
Kai must have mentioned my embarrassment over my hairy pits to Julie, and out of everyone, Julie understood. She went shopping, and two days later appeared in my room to give me an electric razor. It was perfectly designed for women – and I loved it. It didn't take long, but each morning I was able to shave my pits smooth. I found it amazing how much prettier I felt with smooth armpits. It was a cultural norm that I enjoyed meeting, and I thought about women wearing hijabs. Like me with smooth pits, it was something that made the women growing up with that cultural norm feel better about themselves, feel more comfortable and more in tune with the world – and personally, I thought anything like that which made women more comfortable should be honored. It didn't hurt anyone, and wasn't making people more confident important?
Kai told me that the hair on my legs might not grow back, and I thought that was the best thing about being burned. Not having to shave my legs every day? Hell yeah, that was a good side effect. Besides, I didn't want to think of the possibility of having to run a razor over scarred skin. Having no hair seemed like a great idea.
Morning routine complete, Kai carried me down to my wheelchair and walked beside me as I rolled myself into the kitchen. He helped me dish up a bowl of berries and pour on some yogurt and granola. I still wasn't eating as much as I normally would, but I was back to enjoying food. Kai had prescribed an antiemetic to take every morning, and that had helped immensely. It allowed me to eat without feeling like I was about to spew everywhere.
He also poured me a large cup of coffee in a thermal mug with a lid. While I loved my coffee, I had been worried that I would spill the drink on my recovering legs. Julie again came through with the solution. She picked a thermal mug with a locked spill-proof lid, one that was locked closed unless you were pushing a button in to take a sip of the drink. With the design of the lid, I was able to safely tuck my cup between my legs and roll myself around the castle.
After breakfast, I left Kai and rolled down to my study. There were two desks in there – a beautiful Georgian desk that Julie was using, and another gorgeous desk that Eduardo had found in one of the bedrooms that was more suitable to be used with the wheelchair. It had less of a skirt on it, and it let me push the wheelchair in closer to the table to allow me to type. Julie and I had been enjoying the space.
I looked at Julie as I opened my computer. "You okay? You look tired."
Julie laughed. "I got going on research last night, and suddenly it was two in the morning and Kai came down to guide me to bed. I skipped my run this morning but got up at six anyway to continue researching. Steph, this is huge."
"Are you working with the Gurus?"
"I am. I talked to them last night and they cleared their desks. They worked on it yesterday afternoon, their time, and between the four of us we did the three overviews of the issues and I did an in-depth on Steve. We have sent the issue sheets to you, as well as the in-depth. We have also created a list of people that need in-depths and have made that list accessible by all five of us."
"God, I am so glad the four of you are on our team."
Julie grinned. "You'll be even happier when you see the work that has been done. It's big, Steph, and the only reason we've been able to get the information that we did is because of our contacts."
I smiled. "Now you have me intrigued."
