Disclaimer: Everything familiar belongs to JE.
Warning: Adult Situations
Chapter 24, August 22nd; 1600-2000
Various areas around Miami
Joe's POV
I can't fucking believe that the FBI only spoke to us for a half an hour before dismissing us like we were nobody. Don't they understand what a menace Manoso is to the general public? No, they don't. Instead, Lieutenant Colonel Manoso is perfect, he's great, he's helping with the investigation. Manoso, who has no law enforcement background is helping with an investigation while they dismiss two detectives from TPD. Assholes and idiots.
And what is up with Cupcake? Why isn't she coming with me? I mean, she's my girlfriend and almost my fiancé. She should be staying with me. Not with Manoso and his brat. Besides, she always said that she never wants children, but here she is acting all mother hen to that brat. What a happy little family they make. Huh. She should be pregnant with my child by now. I don't know how much longer I can wait for her to come along. I saw her and Manoso leave around two o'clock. I tried to follow them, but Manoso easily lost my tail in the streets of Miami. I had to tail him closer than I normally would, but even with him driving a fucking Lamborghini, I still couldn't tail him. I lost him five minutes into the tail. I'm embarrassed. Now, I've spent the last two hours driving around Miami trying to find his headquarters. I will get my Cupcake to come with me. No way am I allowing her to stay with Manoso while I'm in town. And, when I go back to Trenton in three days, she's coming back with me. My phone is ringing, and I pick it up without checking my caller ID, hoping Cupcake is calling me.
"Hello," I answer.
"Hey Joey Baby, where are you? I miss you, lover."
"Hey, Sexy. I had fun the other night. What inspired you to bring company?"
"Well, I know how much you prefer not to use your mouth, so I figured that would be the best of both worlds. I can get what I want while you get double of what you want. What time can you come over tonight? I can't stop thinking about how you took me on the steps. I want to reenact that scene. I have a special outfit I purchased just for you, lover."
"Sexy, I had to go out of town for a case. I won't be back for a few days, but I promise, when I return, we'll spend the entire night reenacting everything you want."
"Oh, okay lover, but remember I'm waiting for you." Terry croons before hanging up.
What my Cupcake doesn't understand is that I need to marry her so I can continue my relationship with Terry. I can't be openly involved in a relationship with her because of her mob connections. I mean, she is second in command to Vito and is most likely going to take over the Family business when he dies. It won't look good for a cop to be married to the mob. However, if I can marry Cupcake and have the Burg family, I can have my fun with Terry and still help her out where I can. Not to mention, sex with Terry is much better than sex with Stephanie.
While talking to Terry, I noticed several black SUVs driving past me and turning into the same underground garage. That must be the Rangeman Miami Headquarters. I follow the path they took and spy a plain looking building that is about nine or ten stories. Then I see three more black vehicles enter, all driven by men in black. Bingo.
I park my rental on the street, entering the building's lobby.
"Welcome to Rangeman. How may I help you?" Asks some thug who must be about twenty-five.
"I'm here to meet with Mr. Manoso. Can you let him know Joe Morelli is here?"
"I'm sorry, Sir, but I don't have any appointments listed for Mr. Manoso. He is offline until next week. I could see if Mr. Cortez is available."
"Look, I know Mr. Manoso is here. I am not leaving until I meet with him."
"One moment, Sir."
I watch as the man types something into his computer. It seems to be a chat because he pauses before typing again. This process continues for about five minutes. Finally, he looks up, addressing me. "Sir, Mr. Manoso will be here to meet with you at 1800, or six this evening. If you could please come back then, you will be able to meet with him. When you return, pull up to the garage entrance, and I will buzz you in to park in the visitor's sections. Cars often get towed or ticketed out on the street."
"Fine, I guess I don't have a choice." I leave the lobby and head to my car. Now, I have to find something to do for the next hour. I decided to look for a pizzeria. A slice or two of pizza and a coke will fit the bill. Now the only problem I have is finding a pizza joint. Everywhere I look there is Spanish restaurants, a lot of Cuban places. Geez. Can't I guy get a slice of pizza? Finally, I find a place. I park my car on the street two doors down and enter. It smells pretty good inside; the pizza must be decent. I order two plain slices and a slice of pepperoni. I don't trust meatballs outside of New York or New Jersey. Maybe in Philly. I pay for my slices and my bottle of coke before sitting at a table and taking a bite. The pizza isn't as good at Pino's but is much better than those fast food chains. I enjoy my dinner, thinking about how I'm going to get Stephanie to come home with me.
I glance at my watch, noticing I have about fifteen minutes before my meeting with Ranger. I quickly clean up my mess and get back into my car. At 5:57 I pull up at Rangeman Headquarters. Good, I'm early. I pull up to the gate, and the same guy from before directs me to visitor's slot three. I drive in and find my parking slot. As I get out of the car, I notice Ranger's black Lamborghini pull up and enter, parking in the second closest spot to the entrance. As he exits his vehicle, I don't see Stephanie with him. I walk over to him, ready for the meeting to begin.
"Morelli, what the fuck do you want? My daughter came home from the hospital this afternoon. She's in pain. I need to be with her right now, not talking to you."
"Where's Stephanie, Manoso? She's coming with me back to the hotel and back to Trenton in two days."
"She's on her way here."
"I thought she was here to help with your daughter. How can she be helping your daughter if she's not even in the same building as your daughter?"
"Well, up until about thirty minutes ago, she and Julie were in the same building, they were in the same room. Now, Stephanie is on her way here. She had to wait for Bobby to arrive before she could leave. Julie can't be alone right now."
"Your daughter isn't here? Don't you have an apartment here?"
"Yes, I do have an apartment here. And yes, my daughter does have a room here. But, being that this building houses my company, she is not afforded much privacy. For an overnight visit my apartment is fine for her, but for a prolonged visit, we stay at my house."
"Your house? You own a house?"
"Yes, Morelli, I own a house. It is a traditional method for investing one's money. It is also the traditional location for someone to raise a family. I do think you understand that concept, as you own a home."
At that moment I hear the gate open. I turn my head and drop my jaw when I see Stephanie pulling up in a white Ferrari convertible. The top is down, and her hair is wind-blown. She pulls into the spot next to Ranger's car then gets out.
"Bobby arrived about ten minutes after you left. He apologized again for the delay but said there was a mix up at the pharmacy. Everything is straightened out. Julie decided she wanted Chinese tonight, so I told Bobby and Lester we'd pick it up on our way back. Hector is working with Manny and Woody." Stephanie tells Ranger.
"Thanks, Babe." He says while taking her hand. Then he turns to me, "let's go upstairs now."
I follow them into the elevator and notice the keys in Stephanie's hand. It has a Wonder Woman keychain on it. Shit, he fucking bought her a Ferrari. We exit on the sixth floor. As Ranger steps on the floor, I see the men sit a little straighter, nodding at him as he passes. One man walks over to him and whispers something in his ear. Then he turns to Stephanie, "Hey, Bomber. Silvio says you have a sweet tooth. Before you leave, make sure you see me, and I'll give you the address for the best bakery in Miami."
"Thanks, Marco. If I leave it up to Carlos, I'll never have a donut or cake while I'm here."
"You got that right, Bomber."
"Marco why are you encouraging her. You know that stuff will kill you, and her."
"Lighten up. Sugar and fat in moderation will not harm anyone."
I see Ranger shake his head before continuing to a door that has his name on a plaque: R. Carlos Manoso, CEO; Rangeman Security, Inc.
He opens the door, allowing Stephanie to enter before him. He follows her into the office, leading her to a small conference table. They both sit on one side, expecting me to sit on the other side. I look around his office feeling a little overwhelmed. He has a handsome dark wood desk with a state of the art computer. There is bookshelf behind him on the left side of the desk, filled with binders, technical books, and other various books. On the other side behind his desk are a mini fridge, Keurig, and a small table. He has a large, comfortable looking leather chair with three nice leather chairs in front of the desk. On the side of the room where the door is, he has a filing cabinet, in beige. In the corner is a black leather couch with three wingback chairs set up in a sitting area. There's a standing cabinet with doors and drawers that separate the couch from the area where we are sitting. There is a wonderful view of the ocean from his office, with a few nice nature photographs in handsome frames on the walls.
"Morelli, what do you need to see us about so desperately?" Ranger asks me.
"I'm here to take Stephanie back to the hotel with me."
"Joe, what didn't you understand? I'm here to help Julie with her recovery. Right now, she is unable to even use the bathroom on her own. She cannot take a bath or a shower. She can't dress. She needs me to help her with all those tasks. She is extremely shy around men, even her father, and uncles. She doesn't want to be treated by any male doctors right now, only females. I can't stay with you. She needs me."
"Cupcake, it doesn't look right for you to be staying here with Manoso. I don't understand why you can't stay with me at night."
"Because who will help Julie if she gets up in the middle of the night? Besides, the bedroom I'm using has an adjoining bathroom with Julie. I'm almost sleeping in her room. Two different men raped her. Do you think she'll be able to sleep through the night?" Stephanie asks, steam coming out of her ears.
"Cupcake, I don't like that you are here with Manoso. I should never have allowed you to come here in the first place. He will get you killed one of these days. The FBI asked me to come down to talk about him because they don't trust him."
"Joe, they trust him more than they trust you. They saw through your little scheme with the twit Gaspick. They didn't buy anything you tried to sell them."
"Think about how it makes me look when people find out that my woman was staying with another man?"
"Oh, so you're concerned about your reputation, huh? Well, Joe, if you were concerned, then you wouldn't be fucking Terry and Connie, at the same time. Won't the headlines be great? I can see them now, 'Trenton Detective Getting Down and Dirty with 2 Mob Princesses.' I'm sure the Chief will love to find out that one of his detectives is sleeping with the mob. Don't try to deny it, Joe. I heard you fucking them when I called you the other night. I have confirmation that you were at Terry's house. I know you think you're stealthy, but you are not. People see you coming and going from Terry's house. Only they are too afraid of your grandmother to say anything. But I warn you, Morelli, Grandma Bella won't always be there to scare the Burg into submission."
"What proof do you have?" Joe asks.
"Here." Stephanie tosses a file folder that I hadn't noticed sitting on the table. I open it up, feeling all the blood drain from my face as I see pictures of the three of us playing hide the salami. I looked through all of them then I look at Stephanie. I see her smirking. "Morelli, you have two option. Option one, you go back to Trenton and go on with your life as if nothing is different. As of now, we are in an 'off' period. If I decide to give you another chance, it won't be until after I return home from Miami. And no, I don't know when that will be. Option two, you stay here in Miami, hindering the investigation into the Martine murders, bothering and annoying Carlos and I, which will force me to send these photos to the Chief, Senator Juniak, and the Trenton Times."
Fucking bitch. Now what? I can't believe they got pictures. I will find out how they have cameras in Terry's house.
"Before you ask, Terry has cameras in all her rooms. She likes to record her sexual encounters before watching them repeatedly. She never told you she was making home videos?" Steph adds.
"Fine, Stephanie, you win. But I promise you, don't bother coming back to me. I don't want you. You can't cook, you can't clean, you certainly can't fuck worth a damn. I'm better off without you. Hell, there is a line of women vying to be Mrs. Joseph Morelli and I will make one of their dreams come true."
"I pity whatever woman falls for your charms because she is in for nothing but a lifetime of pain and regret."
Ranger presses a button, and I hear a voice respond, "Sir."
"Please have Niko come to escort Detective Morelli from the building. Please let all employees know that he is not to step foot in this building ever again."
"Yes, sir." The voice replied. A moment later there was a knock before a man who could give Tank a run for his money stepped in the room. "Detective, let's go." He ordered me.
Now, I may be stupid sometimes, and I may do dumb things, especially when I've had a drink or two, but I am not dumb enough to ignore a man who has about a hundred pounds on me. I get up and follow him as he escorts me to my car. I get into the car and drive back to my hotel room. Now what?"