Chapter 14

SPOV

Riding back to Deal seemed just too long a journey for me. It gave me too much time to go over the meeting with that woman at the zoo. I knew that Ranger was trying to get me away from Ramos but why did he send her? And what about Mylo, did she really think that I'd leave him behind? Okay, no one would know her if she was from Boston, but to send someone that obviously knew him so well and implied so much more? I really was stupid to think that Ranger didn't have a woman somewhere else. Stupid to think that he thought anything more about me than just being a friend.

I should have known after what he'd said to me just before he'd left last night. Everything that had happened between us was a show put on for Ramos's sake. He was an opportunist, and I was useful for when he was in Trenton. How stupid to think that I meant anything more to him and how stupid I was to allow the man into my heart. Maybe Joe was right.

Once back at the house I went through to the bathroom to remove my disguise, taking a good look at myself. Compared to that woman I looked plain. Unruly hair, pale skin and a body that could do with losing some weight. I sighed as I looked away from the mirror. I had to do something and get myself out of here, I really didn't want to have to rely on Ranger and his girlfriend.

Looking through the closet there wasn't really much here to wear, okay there were two fancy looking dresses but not something that I expected to be wearing anytime soon, and certainly not what I would need if I was going to get away from here and that was now the focus of my thoughts. Somehow, I had to get Mylo and me away from here before Ramos became more demanding.

Seeing Maria in the kitchen I was hoping that she would think the idea that I was going to suggest was a good one.

"Maria, would it be possible for me to have a look at some of the clothes that are available, maybe pick out some that are more, well, what I would wear?"

As she stopped what she was doing I was expecting her to refuse my request but after she spent some time thinking about it, I was pleased when she nodded her head.

"Yes, you're right. I'm not sure what styles you prefer. After our meal I'll take you up there"

Mylo was happy to stay on his own when I left with Maria, though I did tell him to be very aware of anyone coming into the house. Maybe because I was trying to figure out how to leave this place my nerves were acting up. The room that we went to, well suite of rooms, was in one of the wings of the house, probably away from where Ramos would sleep. Maybe the wife had decided that living with a man like Ramos wasn't all that it seemed to be.

The suite was large, bright and very well decorated with a lot of pink. I should have expected that knowing that she'd talked Ramos into painting the whole house that color.

The place was spotless with the bed made and cosmetics and jewelry scattered over a long vanity unit. It was weird really, walking around the place, as though she might just walk back in. I started in the closet, pulling clothes along the rail but only seeing a lot of fancy dresses. It made me wonder if this was how the ex wife dressed all of the time, along with the gym attire.

"Stéfani?"

I turned to see Maria watching me wondering what she was wanting.

"I need to deal with Lucas. Will you be okay on your own?"

"Of course Maria. I'll sort some things out and make my own way back"

I was so relieved as she walked out the door and as I heard the door to the suite close. Now I could have a really good look around. I started with the cabinets next to the bed, pulling out the drawers and pushing things to the side. Not a lot really, some books and jewelry along with some jars of what could have been creams. Another drawer held so many shades of nail varnish that I was sure would have made Connie green with envy.

I hit the jackpot in the lowest drawer when I pulled out a box that held a brand new iPhone. That went onto the bed as I went to the shelves in the closet and started to look for some more suitable clothing.

By the time I'd finished there was a pile of stuff on the bed. Jeans and T-shirts with sweaters. The woman had taste when it came to underwear and most still had the price tags on, so I wasn't worried about taking those. There were socks and some beautiful flat soled boots that had the softest lining and looked to be weatherproof. A thick jacket, hat and gloves completed my cache, so I pushed everything into a medium sized bag. The phone was in my pocket with the empty box back in the drawer, just in case someone decided to check what I'd taken.

I was just hoping that I didn't bump into anyone as I made my way back to our summer house. Closing the main door to the suite I started toward the long, curved stairway that led downstairs. It seemed incredibly quiet in the house making me wonder if Ramos had returned. I suppose I should have known better than to hope for an uneventful journey because as I stepped from the last step, I heard voices and I was sure they were coming my way.

I needed somewhere to hide so opened the first door that I came to, to find myself in a beautifully appointed room. There was a wall full of books and a desk with office equipment on it, so I assumed that this was possibly Ramos's office.

I waited behind the door, listening for any noise and could hear the voices pass by the door. I let out a breath so relieved that they weren't coming into this room. A door opened and a few moments later closed but the voices just seemed to get louder.

Looking to where they seemed to be coming from, I immediately understood why. There was another door that led into the room next door which was where they must have gone. Okay I know I'm nosey, but I was intrigued to know who was here. I left the bag by the exit and tip toed to the other door, why I did that I had no idea because I didn't think the thick carpet would reveal the sound of my footsteps.

"Thank you, Maria"

Was the first voice that I heard, Ramos thanking Maria for something. I heard a door open and close which was followed by the clinking of pottery and glass. It seemed that whoever was here with Ramos were now having coffee and possibly a shot of alcohol.

"You said that we'd have some information by now Alex"

"Patience, Vito. Ranger is working behind the scenes"

"And Miss Plum?"

"I told you Harry, after what happened at that apartment she needs to feel comfortable first and think that she can trust me"

The silence that followed unnerved me, what the hell was this meeting about and why were they talking about Ranger and me? Then it hit me, Ramos had told Vito Grisolli about me and Vito wanted information.

"Alex. We agreed. You need to be proactive. That woman knows something and the longer we wait then the more difficult it will be to do anything"

"I know, but Lorenzo, do you think that she will cooperate?"

"Of course she will. She won't allow anything to happen to that boy"

"Has he said anything yet?"

"No. Both Nico and Maria have said that he must be mute"

"Harry, what did the hospital say, you were going to do that today weren't you?"

"I did as you asked Alex. The man is still in a coma. The word is that he's on strong medication for seizures, that maybe there's more damage to his brain than first thought"

I was sure that they were talking about Charlie and by the sound of it he didn't seem to be getting any better. Mylo would be devastated if he knew how ill his father was. But what did they mean when they said that I wouldn't allow anything to happen to Mylo, did they think that he was in danger?

"Tomorrow, I'll pick up the boy and keep him somewhere safe"

I felt a chill run through me as I heard that. No way was anyone going to be taking Mylo away from me. I'd promised him that I'd stay with him until he was back with his father. Why would they want to do that anyway?

"Won't your niece be suspicious?"

"She knows not to say anything"

If they were talking about Terry then I wouldn't trust her not to say something about what she knew, especially if she happened to see Joe. I knew he said that she often passed on information and he had me thinking that it was part of his job to liaise with her, yeah right. I must have been stupid to think that was all their meetings were about.

"I think it would be better for Lorenzo to take him"

"Don't you trust me Alex?"

"You yes, your niece no. Her relationship with that cop could interfere with the outcome that we want"

There was a silence in the room which I was sure because of what Ramos had just said to Vito. I waited, praying that Vito wouldn't be the one to think that he could take Mylo.

"That's settled then. Alex you work on Miss Plum, Lorenzo you look after the boy. Vito and I will continue with what we planned"

I heard the slosh of liquid falling so assumed they were refilling their glasses. I wasn't sure how long this meeting was going to last for and couldn't risk being found in here. It was time for me to get out of here and back to my room, I had a lot to do tonight before I worked out how the hell to get away from here.

Picking up my bag I slowly opened the door into the hallway, checking to make sure that no one was in sight. I removed my shoes and carried them to minimize any noise and walked across to the door that would enable me to leave the house.

As I walked, I didn't look back, I was scared to death that Ramos or one of the men would suddenly appear. Stepping onto the decking all seemed quiet. I waited as I saw two of the guards walk down the path past the pool and as soon as they were out of sight, I hightailed it across to the safety of the summer house.

The sound and feel of the door closing behind me allowed everything that I'd heard to swirl through my head. Those four men were planning something, what I had no idea, but I was pretty sure that it wasn't going to be anything good. Those men hadn't got to where they were now by being nice.

As I caught my breath I looked across at where Ranger had said there were cameras. There was no evidence of any red lights so maybe they didn't have infrared vision. I skirted around the edge of the room and was soon inside my bedroom. Somehow, we had to get out of here before morning, there was no way I was going to let Lorenzo, whoever he was, take Mylo away.

Emptying the contents of the bag onto the bed I sorted through the clothes. I'd chosen baggy jeans and a warm sweater and coat, along with underwear, the warm boots and socks. The iPhone had me looking at it, wondering why I had brought it when what I had really needed was a charging lead, and I'd failed to find one. I had no idea what the hell that ex wife had done with it. Nothing could be done about that now, so I started to work on a transformation. I had an idea for Mylo and just hoped he'd go along with it.

Two hours later I was waking Mylo up. I hadn't put on the light for fear of frightening him to death.

"Mylo, we have to go"

"Don't be frightened of how I look"

That had his eyes popping open quickly and taking in my attire. He looked shocked to start with but then a look of amusement came over his face.

"Is it that bad?"

I asked suddenly worried that this wasn't going to work. He shook his head and then thrust forward his fisted hand with his thumb in the air.

"Okay, let's see how much you like your new look"

The shrugging of his shoulders had me smiling because I was sure that Mylo had no idea of what I would do to change his looks. Yes, he did squirm and make some funny faces to express how much he disliked it but by the time that I'd finished even he was impressed with the changes.

"If we're going to get away with this then we need to work out how to get out of this property"

I said to Mylo as he started to pack some of his books into a rucksack.

"Mylo"

I sat on the bed as he continued his packing and took hold of his hand to get his attention on me. I really needed him to understand how serious this could be. I was pleased when he stopped moving and looked at me.

"There are men who want to take you somewhere. If anything happens to me, you have to keep running away. Find Rangeman, on Hamilton Avenue. The man you met last night, the man called Ranger, he will keep you safe"

I could see that Mylo didn't like what I was saying, he shook his head and gripped my hand tighter.

"Mylo, promise me. Promise that you'll do that"

After an internal debate that showed on his face, he squeezed my hand again eventually nodding his head. I wasn't convinced so knew we had to do this together and be sure that we eventually found somewhere safe.

"Okay, the beach is probably the easiest way to go, but there are still guards watching the area. We need a distraction, something that'll have the guards occupied with something else"

I'd had a few ideas but wasn't sure how well they would work. I could start a fire in the main building, but that meant going into the main house. Sending an anonymous text to the police that Stephanie Plum was here might work, then again knowing Ramos he'd hide me somewhere, or I could end up getting arrested. Calling Ranger might work, but I had an awful feeling that could end up in a shootout. I'd never forgive myself if one of the Merry Men were seriously injured or worse. I'd decided to push my anguish over Ranger and that girl to one side. Staying alive and keeping Mylo safe took priority over the sadness enveloping my heart. If I ever got through the events that had taken over my life, maybe then I'd be in a better position to reevaluate my life.

I was surprised when Mylo pulled out an iPad from under his pillow, I hadn't even realized that he had one.

"Where's that from?"

Hoping that he hadn't stolen it, then rolled my eyes knowing he wouldn't answer me.

"Did Maria give it to?"

No, came as he shook his head.

"You didn't steal it did you?"

I'd be mortified if he'd done that, but then again did I know Mylo well enough to know what he was capable of. It wasn't him shaking his head that gave me the answer, it was the scowl across his face and the way his eyes stared at me.

"Sorry, I had to ask. Okay, Lucas?"

No.

I wasn't sure I knew who else Mylo had been in contact with to give him something like

that, the only person we really saw was Nico.

"Nico"

Wow, who would have thought that big brute of a man would have had a soft spot for Mylo.

I watched as Mylo switched on the iPad, seeing several game apps that I was sure was the reason why Nico had lent it to him, captivated when Mylo started to download more apps. These apps had one thing in common, they were social media sites. I used iPhones and a mac and was pretty sure you needed a password for downloading them, wondering if Nico had been stupid enough to give it to Mylo. I was fascinated as I watched Mylo add a statement to each of the sites that read.

"Washed up boat on beach at Deal. Lots of contraband for the picking. 05.30 as tide turns. cys"

cys? I had no idea what that meant but wasn't worried about that, I was worried that people would see it in time to be here. It was a brilliant idea, with enough people on the beach we could easily blend in and just walk away with them when they realized there was no shipwreck or Ramos's men scared them away. We had two hours to escape from the house and get onto the beach, judging it just right so we weren't too early and not too late.

I had a jacket and hat on as I lowered Mylo from his bedroom window. It was times like this that I thanked Ramos for keeping us at ground level and not in a room on the first floor of his house. I had the rucksack on my back, underneath the jacket, which added an extra illusion to my disguise.

We had thirty minutes before sunrise so I was hoping the darkness would keep us from being seen. Creeping through ornate bushes we stopped with a view of the gate in front of us. There were two men standing on this side of the gate, looking out toward the beach, I had an awful feeling that maybe this plan of ours wasn't going to work.

The longer we stayed there the more men seemed to appear. Damn it, they were reenforcing the number of men here to stop anyone coming onto the property. We needed to go to plan B, that was if we even had a plan B. Tapping Mylo on the shoulder I started to backtrack the way that we'd come and then turned us toward the wall that ran around the grounds. It was high, too high for me to climb and the clematis that was climbing along the trellis wasn't strong enough to hold my weight.

It would hold Mylo though. I made sure that we were hidden behind the side of the house, out of view, and stood up, bringing Mylo to his feet. With my hands around his waist, I lifted him up hoping he'd understand what I wanted him to do.

"Climb Mylo, climb over the wall"

I whispered against his ear, so relieved when he grabbed hold of one of the thicker vines and started to pull himself up. I was quickly glancing around us as he climbed to the top, then as he lay down along the top of the wall. I knew he was waiting for me to follow him, but even I knew that it wouldn't work.

"Go Mylo, get yourself somewhere safe"

Instead of doing what I wanted him to do he pointed to behind me. I turned seeing the house, wondering what the hell he was trying to say to me. Then I saw what he was maybe pointing to, a balcony on the first floor and guess what? There was a gutter running up the wall beside it.

I knew I had to try, had to make an effort to join him, I had a feeling that he wouldn't leave without me. It wasn't that I couldn't climb up and onto the balcony, it was the idea of jumping across to the wall. Visions of Wile E. Coyote hitting the wall square on and then sliding down to the ground came to my mind.

I had to try regardless of how fast my heart was beating and my hands were sweating. At least the pipe seemed solid, which was a good job when I felt my foot slipping on the stonework, well paint really. Once at the same level as the balcony I reached over and holding onto the rail stepped across from the pipe. Now was the moment, the point of no return as I looked across to where Mylo was watching me. I had never felt so nervous before as I teetered on the ledge with the rail behind me. I pulled my body back and forth a couple of times to try and get some momentum before pushing off with my feet.

I landed across the wall, my legs dangling down but with Mylo pulling on my shoulders I ended up straddling it.

"I'll lower you down"

I told Mylo, so taking hold of his hand held on tightly as he disappeared down the other side. It was a lot further than I thought for him to reach the ground and I ended up laid down along the wall. That's when it happened, a tugging on my jacket and shouts booming below me.

"Hey, where the hell do you think you're going. Egan get over here"

I felt as though I was being stretched across the wall. Mylo still had hold of my hand and was dangling above the ground while the man below me had somehow managed to grab hold of the bottom of my jacket and the man was certainly pulling harder.

"I can't move, he's pulling me back over"

I expected Mylo to let go of my hand, but he was suddenly pulling on me harder if that was possible. The little tike was climbing back up, using my arm. As he reached me, I was at the final limit of my balance, being on my side was killing my ribs, but what Mylo did next was sheer brilliance. He quickly unzipped the jacket which had the pressure moving to my shoulders, but it gave me the opportunity to escape by shaking the jacket down and pulling my arms out and free.

The men were pulling so hard that the jacket slipped over my shoulders and into their arms which meant that I was free to roll over and try to land on the side where Mylo was now stood waiting for me. The landing was softer than I thought it would be, but it didn't stop my ankle from twisting underneath me. As I lay there, I knew I had to ignore the pains that were shooting up my leg, we had to move and quickly before the men worked out what had happened.

I would have headed toward the street but Mylo had other ideas. We ended up on the beach, which I suppose was where we had planned to go. There was a lot of people milling around, probably looking for that shipwreck. It was easy to mingle with the crowd, no one took any notice of us as I joined a group heading back down the beach, well who was going to talk to an old man walking with a little girl next to him.

RPOV

Seeing as I was relieving Santos at 0600hrs I knew I wouldn't have time for a workout in the gym. Tank was meeting me in the garage and as team Alpha we'd be offline to anyone wanting to see where we were going. Hector had filled me in on the progress that Jayce and Tali had made. Manning was on an early shift yesterday out with one of the patrols and from all accounts hadn't done or said anything that could have been construed as traitorous. Jayce had been on him in the afternoon, as Tali had been at the zoo, and followed him. He went to an apartment that wasn't in his file, spending several hours there before then going to the building that was listed as the place where Anansi were planning to open up their gambling operation. Hector had the video from the drone and Jayce had found a good position to use the parabolic mic. I'd be looking at those pieces of evidence when I met with the core team later. That's when we'd decide what to do next.

It didn't go unnoticed by Tank that I was driving fast and being him, he wasn't going to let it go.

"We relieve them at 0600hrs, what's the rush?"

"Call Santos for an update"

Because I just had a feeling that something was wrong.

"Alpha to team Bravo. Sit rep"

"Something's going down on the beach. A lot of civilians are turning up and walking along the water's edge"

It wasn't quite sunrise so what Santos was saying seemed unusual, why would people be down there at this time of the day. Okay there'd be joggers who took advantage of the early morning or even people walking their dogs.

"Bravo, maintain position. We're going to do a drive by"

I changed to a direction that would take us directly past the front of Ramos's house, we weren't in one of the black Rangeman SUVs, the four teams used dark grey trucks, fully loaded of course. They weren't often used but if we needed to move people to safe houses or like now do surveillance then they were anonymous enough not to raise attention. As we passed Ramos's house a look through the trees and past the walls showed that every light in the place was turned on.

"Something's spooked them"

Came from Tank as we sped down the street before making a turn.

"Maybe the crowds on the beach"

That seemed the most plausible explanation. As I stopped the truck, I removed my phone and opened the app that showed Steph's position. It still had her as being inside the compound. Skirting another large property, we found a vantage point from where we could see Ramos's place.

"Gates are locked tight with two guards"

Using the binoculars, I tried to look further toward the main door.

"Two more at the front door"

"They look as though they're ready for a siege"

I switched on my mic to get an update from Santos, maybe there was more going on at the beach side of the property.

"Bravo, sit rep"

"Lots of civilians roaming around. They seem to be looking for something. Ramos has the rear of the property locked down, guards flanking the boundary"

Maybe that was what Ramos was worried about, hell anyone could be disguised in the crowds ready to attack. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and only answered it because I saw that it was Hector.

"Report"

I knew I was being impatient, but Hector would know never to contact me unless it was important.

"Jeffe. Someone has posted over every social media site that there's a boat load of contraband grounded off the beach"

"Outside of Ramos's property"

"Si, Jeffe"

I finished the call, trying to understand why someone would do that. As a distraction it was fucking brilliant but what the hell was going on to warrant a distraction like that?

The app still had Steph inside of there, so was it a distraction to try to get to Steph? I felt myself deflate as that thought crossed my mind and I was cursing Tali for not completing the job I'd asked her to do. 06.30 came and went with Santos reporting that most of the people had now left the beach. Seeing as nothing seemed to be happening, I asked for team Delta to relieve us and as soon as I heard that they were in position headed back to Trenton wondering what the hell had just happened.