Chapter 55

In the end I was surprised how easy our marriage was to arrange, especially when I had help from an unusual person. It was Stanley who had called into Rangeman the Monday after I'd proposed to Steph. Though I think he was slightly annoyed that he'd not seen Steph. To be honest that man felt more for Steph than her own father did, so I told him what I was looking to do.

Stanley was onto it straight away. Apparently, he'd spent some money and had made some changes to the cabin that he owned in Belize, the one where the girls were hanging out. That he actually owned a large chunk of land surprised me and one of the changes he'd done was to buy a small building just along from his cabin. He'd had some conversations done so that it provided rooms for accommodation to complement the existing restaurant. Nothing grand or expensive, but it was the perfect place and Stanley was all too happy to make the arrangements. All that I had to do was to decide who to invite and then get everyone there.

That evening when I went home Ella was still at the house, which was unusual. I have to admit that I did panic in case Steph was ill. That wasn't it though, she was extremely upset, which was why Ella had stayed until I came home. Once Ella had gone, I was upstairs and pulled Steph to me as we laid on the bed. I honestly couldn't think of what would be causing her to be so upset but knowing Steph as well as I did, I knew that by being quiet and patient then she would eventually tell me.

"I told Ella that we were getting married. She'd already guessed about me being pregnant but hadn't said anything. She was so excited and started to talk about wedding dresses. That led to us going out to have a look at what was available"

My heart sank because I could almost imagine what was coming next, she'd bumped into someone, and it hadn't gone well.

"We went to a small boutique place that Ella knew, then afterwards went into the café next door for a drink. She was there, sat with one of the women that she sees at church. She totally ignored me, even moved her chair so that her back was facing me. It was a very big place and my mother made sure that she spoke loudly enough that everyone in the place could hear her"

Shit, why wasn't her mother pleased to see her, glad that she was alive?

"She started talking really loud so everyone could hear her that her daughter had died and that maybe that was a good thing seeing as she'd been responsible for her fiancé dying. Then she started to emphasize what a good man he had been and how her daughter hadn't realized how lucky she'd been, that she really missed the man who she liked to think of as her son in law"

That woman was so vindictive. If she knew what Steph had been through would she be saying that? I wasn't sure because to be honest I was sure that regardless of what she knew about where Steph had been and what she'd done her mother would still have found something negative to say about her. Why would a mother do that to her own child? Or had her mother become so wrapped up in all of the stories and rumors that she actually believed them?

"Babe. You told me that the most important people were your friends. They are your family, the people who love you, respect you and understand you. If someone can't do those three simple things, then they don't deserve to be called family"

I knew that whatever I said it wouldn't take away the hurt. Steph and her mother had always had a bumpy relationship. Maybe once we were married and everyone knew the truth of what had happened to Steph, her mother might begin to understand.

"Did you find a dress?"

I asked keen to get Steph thinking about something else.

"Yeah, I did"

"Good, because plans are in place for our marriage for a week on Saturday"

That had her looking up at me obviously surprised. I wiped away the tears from her cheeks before kissing each of her eyes, unsure if I was going to tell where it was going to be or leave it as a surprise.

"We'll fly out on Friday. All I'm going to tell you is that you'll need to pack clothes for swimming and sunbathing, though personally I don't mind if you don't pack any clothes"

That had the smile that I wanted to see and of course a lot of questions trying to get me to tell her the location. It was as Steph went quiet again that I knew that her thoughts had gone back to her mother.

"Babe?"

"Would you talk to my grandmother?"

I knew how deeply Steph felt for that woman and I was sure that the feelings were mutual. I agreed to do that for her and was mentally planning the time of day that would be best to catch Mrs. Mazuur.

I'd decided to call at Steph's old apartment during the morning and mentally remove that task from my list of jobs to do. I wasn't looking forward to being on my own with her in her space, but I'd promised Steph that I'd talk to her. As I parked in the lot behind the old red bricked building the memory of meeting Mrs. Mazuur after I came back from that mission came to me. I remembered how she'd looked so demure, not the vibrant woman that we had all come to know. As long as she didn't grope me was all that I could think of as I climbed those stairs. Hell, just doing that brought back so many memories. I had been a fool not to realize how important Steph was to me.

Instinct was to pick the lock, but I refrained and knocked on the door before stepping back and waiting. As the door opened, I was looking at Mrs. Mazuur who was stood staring at me.

"You found her, tell me that she's alright"

Smiling I stepped forward hoping that the movement would be enough for Mrs. Mazuur to allow me inside. The hallway wasn't the place for this conversation.

"Yes, I found her"

I watched fascinated as that frail, old, pale lady seemed to grow before my eyes. Her mouth opened and closed several times before she had her scrawny arms around my waist. My first reaction was to tense but then I became aware of the soft sobbing coming from her, so I put my arms around her as though helping her to stay together. After a few minutes she pulled away, her eyes clear and an enormous smile across her face.

"I knew it. I knew that she'd be okay. She is okay, isn't she?"

I nodded my head as the concern came across her face. This old lady really cared for Steph, not like her mother.

"She's more than fine. She's had a difficult few months, and done some incredible things but she's doing well now"

"I always knew that baby girl of mine was made of more. So if you found her then where is she?"

A question that I knew would be asked so I was prepared with an answer that I hoped would satisfy both Steph and her grandmother.

"She's safe, recharging and relaxing, looking to what she does now"

Probably not what Mrs. Mazuur wanted to hear, but I knew that Steph's location needed to be a guarded secret. Mrs. Mazuur was too quick to share any story that she heard, so I wasn't confident that she would be able to keep a secret. I watched as the silence continued. Mrs. Mazuur was moving her dentures up and down with her tongue, a sure indication that she was thinking through what to say next.

"I don't talk to my daughter or her husband anymore. She's more concerned with the gossip than wanting to learn the truth and let me tell you that gossip is rife and darn right mean. If all you can tell me is that she's safe, which if she's with you then she will be, and that she's healthy then that's good enough for me"

I was taken aback by the strength of her feelings and felt assured that she really was on Steph's side. I made an on the spot decision and hoped that I wouldn't regret it later or that Mrs. Mazuur wouldn't let me down. I was putting a lot of faith in her for this.

"Be prepared for a trip a week on Friday. I'll let you know what time you'll be picked up, pack for a couple of days"

I turned before I was besieged with questions and was soon leaving the building. As had always been a habit I turned to look up at the fire escape and smiled when I saw Mrs. Mazuur stood at the window waving at me. That done I was ready to return to Rangeman and to the work that needed to be done.

I'd scheduled a core team meeting for when I returned. Everyone had worked above and beyond over the last couple of months. Santos had been with me while Tank and Bobby had held the fort with the business. It had me realizing the amount of time that was devoted to work, not exactly a good work life balance and with a baby on the way I wanted more time to devote to this child. Hell, I knew how much I had missed with Julie and while I had no regrets with how things had turned out I wasn't going to make the same mistake again. Changes were needed and it seemed that the core team were ready for them as well.

You might be asking what would change? The three offices were all doing well and the people managing them were reliable and competent. The proposals put forward were for each of the offices to be self managing, being responsible for their own finances and targets, answerable as a business to a board of directors, the core team. They'd manage themselves, hiring and firing but always have support when they needed it. Here at Trenton, we were looking at offering positions to men who would make excellent leaders and there were a lot of men who would qualify.

For the first day of the week, it had been a long day, but as I drove home, I felt that we had covered a lot of ground. This reorganization would take to time to implement but six months was my deadline. My only concern was what Steph wanted to do. I knew that she didn't do well if inactive so the idea of her staying home and becoming a housewife and mother was never going to happen and to be honest, I didn't want that for her either. Neither of us were ever going to be conventional parents so I was mulling ideas over in my head.

Approaching the house, I drove straight into the garage as usual. After leaving the car it had become a habit for Steph to meet up with me in the kitchen. It was hearing voices coming from the front lounge that had me on alert and as I slowly opened the door, I was ready for anything. What I wasn't ready for was seeing Steph sat on the couch talking to Correll. Steph must have recognized that I was uneasy with him being here alone with her because she was soon standing by me, holding onto me by my arm.

"Ryan wanted to clear the air with both of us. He's here to explain his side of the story"

I allowed Steph to lead me to the couch and was thankful that she stayed next to me. I wasn't sure that I was feeling comfortable with this, it was bringing back scenes from when Steph and Elaina had told us their story, or should I say when Elaina started to weave her web of lies. I remained silent waiting for Correll to start not really sure what he would have to offer.

"I felt that I needed to explain myself to you Mr Manoso and also to apologize"

I raised an eyebrow but having read Corrells file I knew that he was being honest with me. He was no field worker because of how he saw the world around him, all data and intel that had to be made sense of.

"Carlos. I'd like to know what you have to say"

"As I told Stephanie I work for the NSA, National Security Agency and I answer to the Director of National Intelligence. Being responsible for global monitoring, collection and processing of information and data I became aware of inconsistencies of intel from Serbia. The problem was that it was mudded, and I believed that someone from the FBI was creating false information, that to be honest puzzled me. I was sent to the FBI office in New York City to thoroughly analyze all data accessible"

I remembered Steph telling me what Correll had told her, though it would have been nice to have had this information sooner.

"I suppose that I was working undercover, no one knew why I was there. It was during that period that Lizbeth came into my life. I had no idea that she even existed, I was never told"

I had to admit that had Rachel never told me about Julie I wasn't sure how I would have reacted if she had she turned up looking for me. I was thankful for knowing her and for being able to have small moments of her in my life.

"She'd lost her job with Stanley closing the business and there was nothing for her where she lived so I helped her. Pointed out jobs that came up, secured an apartment for her. I suppose I was making sure that she was safe. There was a lot of chatter coming out of Trenton, talk of an organization setting up to sell human organs on the black market"

Which tied into what we had learnt. I suppose to an outsider the FBI would be seen to have had that in hand.

"What alerted me to Stephanie was when a report came in that agents had raided a warehouse and that they were taking a witness in. The report was vague as to why they had raided it and what the witness had seen. It was too much of a coincidence to me that the witness, Stephanie, was reported to have gone missing with an old boyfriend and that the man turned up dead. To be honest I was worried about her disappearing. She wasn't tied into the murder, so hearing nothing more about her I focused back onto my work"

What annoyed me slightly was why hadn't Correll told anyone of his concerns? Then it occurred to me, he couldn't without blowing his cover.

"As Steph had quit her job, I suggested that Lizbeth spoke to the owner. It was a job that she was capable of doing, but I was also asking her to keep me up to date with what she heard. I was surprised at the connection between Stephanie and Rangeman but it was Lizbeth who decided to try to find out more about that"

So Correll was telling me that while he asked Lizbeth to find out about Steph it was Lizbeth's idea to try to get close to Rangeman. I wasn't sure whether to be annoyed with Lizbeth for doing that or praise her for using her initiative.

"I knew of you Carlos as someone who worked for the government, so I used my access to find out more about you and to look at some of the work that you did. I was impressed at your work ethic, how you always completed your target at all costs and was aware that you were under contract with Colonel Raynor I digress. When I received a call from Lizbeth asking for the use of the beach house I immediately agreed. Then I worried why she would need it, she seemed nervous, so I went there to check on her. That was when I found the two women. Stephanie was badly hurt but I had no idea who the other woman was. I suppose I panicked; I mean how was someone like me going to protect them?"

I could just imagine that from Correll as he faced those two women. Steph would be nervous anyway and maybe Elaina would be out of her depth or feel trapped.

"When I saw you in the house, well I knew of your reputation and that you must have been looking for someone. I was well of the fate of anyone who was seen as holding a hostage that you were looking for. I was scared for the women and for me. I am so very sorry that I shot at you"

Sorry was an overrated word hearing Correll say it, hell he'd nearly killed me and it was only because of Steph's fast reaction of pushing my panic button that I was still alive. I reserved judgement on that behavior from him but was annoyed at the assumption that he had made of me. I had only killed anyone when it was necessary for the safety of the hostage or the men with me. To be honest it was in the past now. I nodded my head as though accepting his apology because I wanted to hear the rest of his story.

"I contacted Lizbeth wanting a car and she brought one for me, a friend followed her so that she could get back to work. Some big black woman driving a red car"

I looked at Steph as both of us realized that the person he was describing was Lula. Steph had been so close to seeing Lula, so close to any of this never happening.

"I headed down to Stanley's thinking that he was on vacation, that was a mistake. He was so annoyed but seeing as he had no idea of what was going on he allowed us to stay. When I told him the two women were in danger, well he rose to the occasion. It never occurred to either of us that you wanted to leave, you sure know how to do a distraction Stephanie"

I wasn't sure if that embarrassed Steph or not, but I was so very proud of her for what she had thought to do in order to escape. I tried to show her that by pulling her close to me with my arm over her shoulders.

"After that, well, I went back to work and tried to forget what had happened, but I couldn't do that. I worked harder and dug deeper. I eventually found out who was with Stephanie, a woman named Elaine Cummings. It didn't add up, a young girl who asked for a copy of her birth certificate to find out that her parents were Serbian? So I followed up on her and ended up at a man called Joseph Thomson aka Damir Markovic"

It was interesting how Correll had eventually come to Markovic but what did he expect to find from that? How did he see it as relating to the FBI mole?

"That there was talk of an unknown technology that would be dangerous to the nation's security and it was coming from Serbia was too much of a coincidence for me. I couldn't tie the data together. It was weeks later when Lizbeth came to me, so upset with what had happened and told me what she'd got involved with that it all started to make sense. She persuaded me to talk to Stanley and he agreed to use any contacts that he had, to talk to people. When he came back we had a name, Emir Lukavic"

I closed my eyes as I realized that between all of us we could have sorted this out so much quicker without anyone getting hurt. I was glad though that I had never underestimated what Stanley was capable of. I'd have to get him to tell me his history one day.

"That was when we knew that we had to find Stephanie and Elaine or Ellie as Lizbeth called her, but you know, we all agreed that the woman was a bit of a conundrum. We had more important things to think about so as we couldn't find her, we looked for you Stephanie, after all you held the key to the detonator, and we knew that Lukavic needed it"

I reached out and took Steph's hand in mine because that action by Stanley, Lizbeth and Correll had possibly been a pivotal action on their part. What Steph had been vague about was what was said when she realized that they were the ones who had found her. I think that both Correll and I were surprised when Steph leant forward, pulling away from me but looking at Correll.

"Did you talk to Carlos?"

Not what I was expecting her say but it did have me curious at how Correll would answer her.

"Yes. What you said to me about the secure facility meant that we had to move quickly. How you put together that information surprised me but knowing that the EMPs had been relocated had the puzzle slowly unwinding. I knew that we had to act quickly and have some sort of plan in place to protect the public. I was aware that you wouldn't trust me, you had no reason to, but you would trust Carlos. There was a lot to organize, people to talk to. I needed your team to work their magic on those two devices so contacted CJ but knew that we had to let Lukavic believe that he was going to get away with his operation. So yes, I asked Carlos to somehow get those passwords to him. To be honest I was taking a gamble that he was as good as his reputation suggested, that he'd be able to get inside that facility"

It had never occurred to me at the time when he called that he had no idea that I was going to be going into that place anyhow. I somehow assumed that he knew, but then again how could he?

"I didn't know what you had planned but seeing Stephanie being led into that train station and disappearing and then you going in, well we just had to hope that you would do as we asked. I had no idea that either of you would be in any danger. Of course the fact that your gun was responsible for Elaine's death and being who you are, that isn't being looked into, Colonel Raynor has confirmed that you were under contract to do what was necessary"

I felt Steph tense as he said that. I understood what he was saying. If I was under orders from the government then my actions were sanctioned. Steph killing Elaina would have to result in an investigation. I pulled her back to me and whispered to Steph.

"That's the way it has to be Babe, it protects you"

I felt her sigh and looked over to Correll who nodded his head, as though he knew exactly what had happened and what I'd said to Steph.

"We were ready on the sidelines and restrained Lukavic, Lambert and the computer man, Kenyan, as they left the tunnel. Once we had them and served a warrant on their properties, we had enough to arrest Gregson and the men that Lukavic had employed.

Gregson is trying to weasel out of any charges, playing the FBI agent who was out on a limb trying to capture a dangerous man. His lawyers are suggesting that he could try for a bargain plea"

I know that I wasn't happy about that. The man had been as much a part of the organization as Lukavic had and it was him who used Elaina to do some of his dirty work. Which reminded me of what had happened early on, when this had all started.

"Who killed Detective Morelli?"

"Gregson is saying that it was Lukavic, though we have witnesses saying that it was Gregson who paid him off. We know very little about the woman who was with him"

I suppose it might be difficult to tie in Morelli's death to one specific person, all we could hope for was that one of Lukavic's men might decide to say something. Though if I remembered right, Steph was sure that several men were killed on that boat that she saw explode. Lukavic was very good at tying up loose ends so I was hoping that the state had enough evidence to lock him up and throw away the key.

"The tunnel was collapsed and the facility, well maybe you could help with some ideas on additional security"

That was said with a smile but maybe it was something that Rangeman could look at. Hell, a contract like that could be very lucrative and hazard free, which was what we were in need of at the moment.

"Do you have any questions for me, anything that I've missed out?"