Chapter 20

I did a full reconnaissance around the building trying to gage if there were other people inside. When I decided that maybe there was only Correll and Steph inside I made a decision. I had to get her out. I could overcome Correll, after all he was older than me and less fit, if he had a gun then I was faster than him.

Returning to the front door I pulled out the lock picking set that I'd used earlier and was quickly opening the door. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness I knew where I needed to be. I made no noise as I climbed the carpeted stairs and there were no other sounds around me alerting me to danger. I was just about to take hold of the handle to the door that I was sure led to that back room when the unexpected happened. I felt a stab at the back of my neck, turning, another stab came at the top of my thigh, penetrating the denim material of my jeans.

I fell heavily against the door not understanding why I seemed to be losing control of my muscles. A blurred figure stood over me as my eyelids began to become heavy and it was then that I realized that I'd been shot with a tranquilizer dart. No matter how hard I tried to move or open my eyes nothing worked. I heard a scream from somewhere close by, the sound of my Babe as she screamed out.

"No"

That was the last thing that I was aware before my mind went totally blank, the blood in my veins rushing around my body, loud enough for me to hear the slow thump of my heart as the tranquilizer worked its way into my system.

The sound of groaning was what had me realize that it was coming from me. My head was thumping, making it almost too painful to even think. Bile rose up my throat as nauseous contractions hit my stomach and I felt myself being turned. Being sick had never been something that I was used to, and the violence of the stomach cramps had me actually wondering if maybe I'd drunk far too much tequila. I was aware of voices as the buzzing in my ears receded but had to concentrate hard to actually recognize who it was or what they were saying.

That was when it came back to me, Stephanie, I'd seen her. Had I somehow been taken down by the people holding her?

"Ranger, we're going to sit you up a bit"

Came a voice as I felt myself being propped up against something soft.

I knew that had to get out of here, I was no use to Steph if I was being held prisoner. I used all of my willpower to make my aching muscles move, trying to move as quickly as possible from where I was. Strong arms were suddenly around my chest and thighs making any movement of my arms and legs impossible. I wasn't sure why my breathing felt so labored or what had happened to get me in a state like this.

"Ranger, you need to calm down. You're in the infirmary at Rangeman"

That gave me pause for thought and to be honest it did sound like Brown talking. I stopped struggling in order to calm myself down and as that happened, I was willing for my eyes to open. I blinked a lot to try and focus my vision only seeing blurred outlines of figures in front of me. After a few minutes they started to take on shape and form and slowly I was looking at the faces of Brown, Hector and Santos.

"I have to get back"

Thinking of where Steph was.

"The house is empty Ranger, we searched the place. Ram is there now collecting any evidence. What the hell were you doing there?"

I had to pull together the most recent memories that I had, remembering following Correll and hiding in the trunk of his car. The image of Steph at the window and walking up the stairs to find her. Then nothing. What the hell had happened?

"Correll, I followed him. He was at a house by the beach, but I'm sure I saw Steph there"

I watched as Santos and Hector backed away from me slightly and how a glance passed between them.

"You were alone in the house, hell Ranger, if you hadn't hit your panic button, you'd probably be dead by now"

I had no memory of doing that, only of the stabbing pains that I felt before I felt myself lose all control of my muscles.

"You were tranquilized with a very high dosage, enough to drop your heart rate down to a dangerous level"

That would probably account for why I felt so shitty, but I was grateful that someone had gone there to find me. I replayed what I'd heard Santos tell me and that I was alone in the house. Did that mean that they'd taken Steph somewhere else? Did that mean that they thought that I was dead?

"Any ideas on where they went?"

I asked hoping that maybe Hector had been quick enough to work that out.

"There was a car parked out front so we're assuming they had another one there or called someone"

They must have moved quickly then to avoid being seen by the Rangemen who turned up.

"I'm running a program to identify any cars that left the area, assuming they used the main routes out of there"

The problem was we would have no idea what car had been used or what name would be linked to the car. It was like searching for a needle in a haystack. As I lifted my arms to wipe my face with my hands, I noticed the IV running from the back of my hand noticing the bag of fluid attached to the tube.

"I'll take that out, but you may still be feeling the aftereffects of the tranquilizer"

Once Brown finished removing the IV, I was keen to see what Hector had found out about the vehicles leaving the area where that cottage was, but it was Santos who stopped me from moving from the bed.

"Slow down. I've asked Hector and Ram to meet with their findings at 1700hrs"

That had me frowning at Santos as I considered the timing of the meeting.

"How long have I been here?"

Finding it hard to believe that it could possibly be the next day.

"We found you last night Ranger. You've been out all day"

I'd lost a whole day. That meant Steph could have been taken anywhere and the chances were that any clues would be hard to find. Looking down at my watch I saw that I had an hour to clean up and change, though that reminded me of what I'd heard earlier. The panic button on my watch was what had alerted Hector to where I was, but I still couldn't remember pushing the button. I shrugged that off as I left the infirmary realizing that Brown had been right. The headache behind my eyes was down to an annoying ache but I felt the tiredness in my muscles. That was why I took the elevator upstairs to my apartment.

Showering and shaving helped, but it was while I was removing some clothes from the closet that I realized for the first time that there were none of Stephs things hanging up. A quick check in the bathroom confirmed that all of her things had been removed. I hadn't noticed before, but now it actually annoyed me. I wasn't sure if I was annoyed with myself for not having noticed before or annoyed that someone had removed them, but it was time to rectify the act.

"Ella"

"Are you feeling better, are you back for a while, do you need something for a meal?"

"Yes, no, no. Did you remove Steph's things from my apartment?"

"Yes. Tank told me that she'd left with that policeman, so we thought it better not to have her things in there"

I suppose it made sense and probably had it been true then I would agree, well maybe.

"Do you still have them?"

I asked hoping that Ella hadn't thrown them out.

"Yes. I never liked what was being said so I kept them. I'll bring them up this evening"

"Thank you Ella"

As I replaced my phone in my pocket I felt better. Okay I'd been taken in with what I'd been told about Steph as well, but would I have removed her clothes from my apartment? I had a sudden feeling of guilt thinking about that, because I had tried to rid her from my thoughts, that damn woman from New York coming to my mind.

I walked into the conference room for the planned meeting, seeing Santos, Hector, Ram and Tank sat around the large table. There was a lot of paper in front of where I would be sitting so I was keen to get a verbal report first before having to spend time reading through them. I looked to Hector first because for me he was the one who might have some idea of the vehicle used to remove Steph.

"I have names for the owners of cars that left the area but not knowing who we are looking for makes it impossible to narrow it down"

Names were something that we were short of and I was damn sure that Corrells name wouldn't be on the list.

"The house?"

"Rented under the name Ryan, for cash. It's a long term rent that the owner and Correll worked out between them"

Which was why I had never seen it from a search.

"Err, Ranger"

I looked at Ram remembering that he'd been to the cottage to collect what evidence might be there. Maybe Correll had been too confident that he wouldn't be found, and Ram would have some answers, though from how he had spoken I wasn't too sure if I was going to like what he was about to say.

"From looking through the kitchen and the garbage bins I'd say that whoever was using that place hadn't been there that long. That they'd only arrived that day"

That surprised me and had me wondering where they'd been previously. Hell, if they were moving Steph around from place to place then it would make it more difficult to find her.

"The bedroom at the back of the house, there were bandages in the bathroom. They looked as though they'd come from an old wound, not much blood but what there was I was able to match to Steph"

My fist came down on the table hard as I tried to reign in my annoyance. I'd had her in my sights and then lost her.

"I'd say there was at least one man there from the size of footprints at the back of the house and there was another woman there. Hair in the drain of the shower matched to Lainey, the girl we've been looking for"

At least now I knew that Steph was with this girl, but I wasn't sure how that would help. The question running through my head was why. Were they using Steph as a way to control Lainey, was that why Steph was hurt?

"They used motion pads underneath the rugs, that's probably how they knew that you were there. Maybe it was also a way of knowing if the women were where they were meant to be. No personal effects or electronics so they must have taken them with them"

I nodded to Hector, at least now knowing how I'd been detected. I shouldn't have gone in without backup, I knew that now, but I had never expected Correll to be responsible for kidnapping Lainey and then Steph. It just didn't make sense to me, he hadn't given me the impression that he would get his hands dirty like that. He was a desk man with absolutely no record of any wrong doing.

"What's happening with Markovic?"

I looked to Santos seeing as he was there last.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing. He has visitors who we can vouch for but hasn't been out of the house. If we're right, then that woman should be there tomorrow. Ethan is standing by to see what they're up to"

If Santos expected them to be having a lover's meeting, then I was sure that he was going to be disappointed. There was nothing more to report and I was conscious that I wasn't supposed be here.

"Let's head back to them. I'll go through these reports when we get there"

I think that Santos knew not to say anything to me as we drove back to the cabin. Maybe he was annoyed at me for letting Steph slip through my fingers because I was. All I could do was move on, move faster to find her before it was too late. Once at the cabin I started reading through the reports from Ram and Hector, putting Hector's off till last as I saw how many names that he'd compiled. Ram as always was very detailed but to be honest there was nothing more to add from what he'd told us. Placing that report down I went through to the kitchen area and found a bottle of water. The effects of the tranquilizer were long gone so I would be doing my stint on surveillance, though from what CJ had told me nothing had happened while I'd been away.

I looked up to see Santos come out the bedroom and decided that I really needed to talk with him.

"I went against every protocol at that house. Seeing Steph, made me be reckless"

I looked up to see Santos watching me, wondering how he might reply.

"I'm stuck between elated that she's still alive but so worried what will happen to her next. Yeah, you were an asshole Ranger. If you'd waited and called us, we could have got her out of there"

It was only what I'd expected and deserved to hear. I nodded my head acknowledging what he was saying to me and made to walk past him. When he grabbed my arm and turned me, I was honestly prepared to take the fist that I knew was coming.

"I'm not mad at you, I'd have probably done exactly the same thing. Hell, the last thing we expected was for Correll to have Steph and Lainey"

As I stepped toward Santos his arms were around my shoulders, hands slapping my back before he turned and opened the cupboard, probably to find something to eat. At least the tension between was gone.

Surveillance gave me too much time to think and sleep gave me too many scenarios of when I'd seen Steph. I woke feeling disheartened and knew that I had to get myself together. What had happened was done, what I did now was important, and it was with that renewed clarity that I started to go through the names provided by Hector.

So many names to read through but one that had me going back to it. Stanley Osbourne, Hammonton, Atlantic County. Why the hell did that name sound so familiar? I ended up pulling out a laptop and was about to input his name into a search when CJ shouted out at me.

"We're heading to the van, are you coming?"

I looked up to see CJ at the door and remembered the excitement that had been building up with the expected arrival of Markovic's female visitor. Why not, Santos would be there so I could ask him about Stanley Osbourne and if he remembered who he was. Arriving at the van all seemed quiet inside until I opened the door. Yeah, Santos was up to his usual tricks with Ethan.

"Twenty that they do it in the bedroom. They're too old for anywhere else"

"Double it, the lounge in front of the fire"

I was pretty sure neither of those would be happening and a feeling that what we were about to see was going to be important. The image from the camera could be seen on the screen with most of the bodyguards downstairs or out patrolling the grounds. Markovic looked to be in the bathroom and judging from the red haze in the room I would guess that he'd just showered. Movement at the front of the house showed a car approaching and parking with someone opening a rear door. It looked as though Ethan had been right when he'd said that she came every three days. As the woman stopped just inside the door, Markovic had moved to a room at the back of the house which was where the woman arrived at.

"Showtime"

Came from Santos as Markovic sat down and leant back in what seemed to be a recliner. The woman, she looked to be moving something and stood next to him.

"Can you zoom in closer?"

I asked totally confused with what she was doing. It was a few minutes before she moved away from Markovic, and she sat down in the corner of the room while Markovic relaxed in the chair. That was when I saw it, heat coming from something next to the bed and then a line that moved from Markovic's arm to the machine.

"What the hell's going on?"

Asked CJ. He shrugged his shoulders as we continued to wait and watch.

"She comes every three days for four hours. Shit, I know what's happening"

I looked at Ethan as he moved the camera to a slightly different angle and zoomed in again. Okay, the image wasn't as clear, but it seemed Ethan knew what he was looking for.

"A transfusion?"

"No. Dialysis. I bet she's a nurse"

If I remembered right dialysis was used where a patient's kidneys weren't working properly. There hadn't been anything in the searches that we'd done to suggest that he was ill.

"Do we have internet in here?"

I asked taking the laptop down from the shelf. At a nod from Ethan, I opened up a search engine and input the words radioactivity and kidney failure. It was as I read through a paper from Lancet that I found what I was looking for. A report on the late-onset effects of wartime and accidental radiation exposure and the mention of chronic kidney disease as a potential late-onset effect.

"I bet that he has chronic kidney disease from exposure to radiation. It's described as a late onset effect"

Which meant that without dialysis he would die unless.

"Shit he needs a new kidney"

I said as slowly the pieces started to come together.

"The donor would need to be a perfect match. If he has a rare blood group, then getting one through conventional means would mean a long wait"

"Are you thinking that he was he was trying to get that group in Trenton to find one for him"

Then it occurred to me why he was desperate to find his daughter. She might be the perfect match for him. As I looked at the men sat around me, they weren't watching the screen anymore and it wasn't long before they'd caught up with me.

"The daughter. He sees her as a donor?"

I nodded my head, no wonder he was prepared to reveal where that detonator was and what better way to bargain with him than by offering his daughter for it.

"Santos, recheck his medical history and then do the same for Lainey. See if they have the same blood group. Ethan, look for where the equipment might come from"

I had no intention of staying here for the next four hours and it seemed I wasn't the only one who had no desire to sit any longer, because Ethan was turning off the equipment and the others were collecting their things together. We were quiet as we travelled back to the cabin probably thinking of who could be demanding the ransom. There were all sorts of possibilities, some of which we probably hadn't even considered and some we had no idea about. Was the group that had been stealing organs a different concern, a group that Markovic had somehow found and who the hell were the ones who had kidnapped Lainey for the detonator, what would they do with it if there was no warhead? So many damn questions, least of all was where did Correll fit into this?

Back at the cabin we all settled down on the couches in the living area with laptops. Conversation was solely to ask a question or confirm a finding with lots of mumbling coming from Ethan as he used his skills to access various sites. We spent the rest of the night tracking down clues that were very well hidden. So well hidden it required Ethan to hack into several official sites, and some unofficial. Finding the blood groups for Lainey was easy to do from the hospital records of where she had lived with her adoptive parents, Markovic took a bit more stealth, like hacking into the original file that was compiled when he was extracted from Serbia. If Ethan had just hacked into Pentagon files, then I didn't want to know. I don't think any of us were surprised when he and his daughter were the same blood group, B negative, a group where it was hard to find donors for.

CJ was surfing through the dark web for sightings of a group selling organs or even a bidding site. They were there but none of us were convinced that they were the group based in Trenton, which had me wondering why they chose Trenton. Most groups were based abroad and as CJ found, a kidney for someone with B negative were few and far between.

"He has to have money hidden somewhere else"

From that I assumed that CJ had moved over to trying to find how Markovic might pay for a kidney and the supplies that he was buying for his treatment. I didn't doubt what CJ was saying. The problem was working out what name and ID he had manufactured to use. After several hours I decided that we needed to move on to the next problem that we had.

"Table what we have. We know what Markovic is wanting and why. What we need to do is to find Lainey and Steph"

"Any ideas Ranger?"

Correll seemed to be involved though who with was going to be difficult to establish.

"The only lead that we have is Correll. I did a deep search on him and any associates, but I'd say that he is a very astute man. He doesn't leave a trail to follow"

"What about the cars that Hector spotted from the street cams, anything there"

As I looked over to Santos that name came back to me. Maybe it was a name that I'd seen before but somehow it felt important.

"Does the name Stanley Osbourne sound familiar?"

I saw the frown cross Santos's face which to me meant that he recognized it as well and waited as he closed his eyes thinking it through.

"He was that PI. The one where that bounty hunter worked, what the hell was her name?"

"Lizbeth Norton"

I replied remembering her all too well. Could she be involved, she had turned up in Trenton after Steph had left? What would be her motives for doing that, for trying to get close to me, or was she thinking that I'd know where Steph was or would be looking for her? Was she thinking that if I led her to Steph then we might also find Lainey? In some ways it would make sense but how did she know Correll?

"Was there any link to Correll?"

"Not that I remember. Unless the link is through Osbourne, I never did a deep search on him, just confirmed where she'd worked"

Maybe that was worth following up on, though I was sure that Santos had said that he was away, and out of the country. I watched as Santos opened up his laptop, assuming that he was going to be doing that search on Osbourne now. I actually waited until Santos had the search open, hoping that he would share the content.

"Stanley Osbourne, aged 61. He was born in Hammonton, Atlantic County. Went to Harvard University then joined up at 22 and did a stint in Panama, then ended up in Iraq as part of Dessert Storm. His last posting was in Bosnia as part of the peacekeeping force. It doesn't say what his regiment or what specialty he had or what rank he was when he left. 2001 he took retirement but looks as though he spent the next five years bumming around the States. He set up his PI business in 2006, back where he was born"

It was interesting that he was an ex army man and had certainly paid his dues in serving his country. I'd never heard his name mentioned but given his age I wasn't surprised. The information certainly didn't give any indication of a connection to Correll.

"Lizbeth Norton?"

I asked wondering if there was anything that might raise our concerns.

"No nothing. Ranger, it's quiet here and as you said we need to find that girl and Steph. I suggest we travel down to Hammonton and at least cross that off our list"

I nodded my head in agreement because I couldn't help but feel that seeing Osbourne's car in the area near to the house where Correll had been, was too much of a coincidence.

"Get everything together for the van and the truck. I'll look at the area where Osbourne lives. Santos, the house where Lizbeth lived with her mother, who owns it now?"

"She does"