Chapter 10

Antiope. It was an unusual name for a business, but it was appropriate. Life and circumstances had changed them both, but at least some things remained the same. The allure of jumping off a garage roof to see if she could fly had caused her pain. Later, her association with him had caused her pain. When he failed her at the end, she gave up everything to save her child. That pain was unimaginable. Without realizing it his hand curled into a fist, and he slammed it against the counter. His laptop jumped a quarter inch off the hard surface and when it landed the screen went blank, obliterating the information on Antiope.

She called him Batman. He was hardly a superhero. He wasn't even a hero. She'd needed him, but he'd been out of the country chasing down a bad guy for a cash prize. He'd been selfish, thinking only of RangeMan and its future. And she'd been at home. Her husband had been killed and she needed Batman. He'd been fed false Intel that had caused his stay to extend crucial weeks when he should have been there for her. Someone had planned it well.

If he'd been in his right mind when he came home, he would have realized it. Instead, he arrived home to the news that she was dead, and he'd gone crazy with grief. He'd never revisited the details of that mission, until now. And now it was clear. His absence had been orchestrated to coincide with Stephanie's faked death. He wasted years when the evidence was always available to him. He hadn't looked.

He'd need to talk to her, to get the details and then he would put all the pieces together and track down the bastard that had ruined their lives. Ruined his life, he amended. Stephanie had found the strength to build a new life for herself and from what he could tell she'd been successful. She'd raised a wonderful daughter who was now a very important person in his life.

Ranger owed his recovery to Cally. He wasn't even close to 100%, but he was so far ahead of where his doctor expected him to be, that it was being considered a minor medical miracle. Cally had given him a glimpse at a future, and he would act upon the information she'd given him. He would reconnect with Stephanie and make sure that Stephanie's and Cally's lives were no longer at risk. It was his duty and his desire to do so.

The thought of seeing her terrified him. He'd lost her once before, and he didn't know if he could handle it if she pushed him away. From what he had been able to glean, she was a very different person than the Stephanie that had loved him. Having him drop back into her life might not be what she would want. His information about her life was sketchy, gathered from the internet. His search capabilities were beyond normal, but still there was much more information to be had. Tank would be there soon to give him what he hoped would be an in-depth report. Ranger knew better than to hope there would ever be something between them again, but he did hope. One little clue to the new Stephanie fanned the flame of a possible future for them. She named her business Antiope.

"She named her business Antiope. That's odd, but it seems to be an okay place." Tank held out a small card for Ranger's inspection and smiled at the look of astonishment on Ranger's face.

"I told you to be discreet," Ranger said, "and you come back with a membership to her establishment?"

"I was discreet," Tank said, still grinning. "Look closely at the name beneath my photo."

Ranger did and shook his head. "You pulled out an old alias?"

"I did," Tank said. "Robert Charles has been useful to me lately."

"I want to hear every detail," Ranger said. "Go grab a couple of beers from the refrigerator and come back and report."

"Huh, got used to having people wait on you? I don't see no hardware on that leg. Seems like you could get your own beer."

Ranger sat without moving in the big leather chair that had made the trip from his apartment to his new residence. After a moment Tank sighed and stood. "You're no fun, man. I can't get a rise out of you. You feel okay?"

"I do," Ranger said. "Bring in a couple of beers and I'll tell you about my research and then you can tell me your story. I think I might have some surprising news for you."

"Good deal," Tank said as he left the room. "I might have some surprising news for you, too."

"No doubt."

Tank reentered the room two minutes later carrying two longneck bottles in one hand and a turkey drumstick in the other. There were several bites missing. He handed an open bottle to Ranger before he sat down in the chair across from him. "Your refrigerator looks like a family of five lives here. What happened?"

"My mother and Ella happened," Ranger replied. "Once I moved in, they came with baskets of food, and I think they plan on making regular visits. So, help yourself to anything you want. It's more than I could eat in a month, and so you won't have to talk with your mouth full, I'll talk first."

"Mmmpp," Tank said, and swallowed.

"There was no Intel that it was unsafe for me to leave Columbia. My position hadn't been compromised. At least there was no evidence of it in any report. There was only a memo marked urgent and confidential sent out by my handler. It looks as though he invented it."

"How can you tell?"

"You've looked at the files, I presume?"

"Yeah. I did it the same night we found out about Stephanie from Cally."

"I'll have you look at them again, a little later. Clearance for my return had been given. There was a tentative schedule for my reentry to the country and my debriefing. All of that was put on hold. There was no reason given. Nothing is documented. Just a memo to keep me in place as it was unsafe to leave."

"Possibly the Intel was too sensitive to be put in a report," Tank said.

"Possibly the Intel was bullshit," Ranger replied. "Protocol would have been to reference the appropriate Intel. There was no reference. And these are highly encrypted files. Never meant to be seen by anyone outside the organization. It would have been safe to document the Intel."

"True," Tank said. "And yet Silvio was able to regularly access them to give you your data base. Maybe the government realized they weren't impenetrable."

"Maybe," Ranger conceded. "But I doubt Brian Gregg would have been worried about that. It seems more natural that he would have put everything he had in the report to cover his own ass."

"Brian Gregg?" Tank asked.

"My handler at the time, and the man who I suspect acted as a WITSEC agent and got Stephanie and Cally out of town."

"What's the connection?" Tank asked. "Morelli was a Trenton P.D. detective. Your handler was federal government who worked for an invisible agency."

"I don't know the connection. Within a year of Stephanie's death, there was a new POTUS, and things in Washington changed. I was approached by a different organization. The risks were higher and the money better, and I found myself in a new situation with a new handler. I lost touch with Brian. I have no idea where he is or if he's still with the agency, or even alive. I need to find him though. And we'll need to get into the WITSEC files. Fortunately, Silvio will freelance."

"I've got someone on the WITSEC end of it," Tank said. He stood and walked back into the kitchen. Ranger heard the refrigerator door open and Tank came back into the room carrying another turkey leg. Ranger raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Tank asked. "I missed lunch today."

"You've got someone on it?" Ranger asked.

"Althea Whittaker," Tank said. "AKA the former Mrs. Robert Charles."

"The Fed you were undercover with years ago?" Ranger asked. "The woman who almost made you decide against working with me?"

"The same," Tank said. "She heads up the Federal WITSEC program at the Department of Justice, and New Jersey is one of the states that fall under the Federal branch. So, even though she wasn't involved with the program at the time, she has access to the information about Stephanie's relocation. She's going to check into it, because she doesn't think the story sounds right either."

Ranger sat contemplating Tank's news while he watched his friend finish off the second turkey drumstick. The silence stretched on, not uncomfortable. Both men seemed to be lost in their own thoughts.

"We need to get into your files," Tank said. "There is a file on every op you worked, so if this Brian guy was involved, maybe we can pick up on how."

Ranger nodded. They were beginning to formulate a plan. It felt a little like the old days.

"Tell me about her," Ranger said suddenly. Tank had been waiting for it.

"She looks good," Tank said. "She owns her own business. Two gyms and according to the assistant manager they're getting ready to expand into a third location. It's a serious gym. Martial arts classes, a sparring room, a fully equipped workout center, a pool, and get this. Stephanie is a certified aerobics instructor. She teaches classes. Zumba and a senior's exercise class called Silver Sneakers. It's a pretty conventional gym for people who are serious about fitness. The only weird thing about it is the name. Antiope."

"Antiope was an Amazon queen," Ranger said. "It's postulated that the original Wonder Woman character was based on the legend of Antiope."

Tank stared openmouthed at his friend.

Ranger almost smiled. "I researched it. I found her gym online and looked at the website, and then I researched the name."

"Stephanie always did have a thing for Wonder Woman," Tank said.

"Yes, and there's more. There's a character in the Wonder Woman series named Antiope. Most times she is portrayed as Wonder Woman's aunt, but in a few of the earliest serials she was Wonder Woman's grandmother."

"Stephanie found a way to honor her Grandma," Tank said. "Cally wasn't the only part of her old life she took to the new life."

"So it seems," Ranger said. Again, he felt a spark of hope. The circumstances that took her away had changed her, no doubt. But maybe not completely.

"It more than seems that way," Tank said. "I saw with my own eyes what part of her old life she took into her new." Ranger gave Tank his complete attention.

"It was weird, man," Tank said. "I watched her leave the building at the end of her day. She was dressed like a RangeMan operative, from the old days. Black pants, black shoes, and a black shirt. Then she got into a black Porsche Turbo. An old style just like the one of yours she destroyed."

"It wasn't her fault," Ranger replied softly.

Tank nodded in agreement and then continued. "After she left, I went in and talked to the guy behind the desk. I asked for a tour and then, I joined under my alias. Her place is classy and modern, and it has the definite vibe of the RangeMan offices. Muted colors. Everything is streamlined and it's clean. Doesn't smell like a gym, but man what really freaked me out…she has a sparring room with a ring, and if you just woke up there, you'd think you'd been taken to the mats at RangeMan."

"That's interesting," Ranger said. The flame of hope was growing stronger.

"I, uh, well, I checked out her home. She lives in an upscale condo with a waterfront view. And I know Cally said she didn't have anyone special in her life, but I think daughters don't always know everything about their moms." Tank hesitated before he continued. "I think Steph's got someone, and I don't think it's casual."

"Why is that?" Ranger asked, his face blank.

"Because when she opened the door for the dude, she wasn't exactly, I mean, she was sort of undressed, and when he left…well, he left the next morning. So, he's important enough to her that he stays with her. That don't sound casual to me."

"No, it doesn't," Ranger said. "But why shouldn't she have someone? She's successful, has no husband, and she's alone now that Cally moved. Why would we presume that she never found anyone else?"

"You didn't find anyone else," Tank said. The men shared eye contact for a moment, before Ranger turned his gaze to his hands. His forearms rested easily against his thighs. His hands were clasped with steepled fingers, and he pressed them together more firmly as the flickering flame of hope took a strong hit from an unexpected gust.

"I talked to Cally about our suspicions," Ranger said. "I tried not to worry her, but I wanted her to be aware. I explained that she needed to be vigilant."

"What suspicions did you mention?" Tank asked. "Did you tell her about the government work? All the off-record ops?"

"I didn't give her details. I just explained that just as someone had wanted the world to believe she and her mother were dead, they also had a reason for keeping my existence hidden from Stephanie. I told her she needed to be vigilant.

"How'd she take the warning?" Tank asked. "You think she'll be careful?"

Ranger shrugged. "She reminded me a little of Stephanie," he said. "She didn't like the idea that she needed to curtail her activities, or at least make an effort to be aware of her surroundings."

Ranger smiled briefly before continuing. "She doesn't have her mother's aversion to guns. She's got a concealed carry permit." Ranger's smile returned. "She carries a S&W Bodyguard, and she assures me, she knows how to use it."

Tank smiled too, at the thought of Cally carrying a weapon very similar to the one her mother used to store in her cookie jar. Then he sobered. "How the hell did she get a CCW permit in Jersey?"

"How is secondary to why. Why would she think she needs a gun for self-protection? The answer is unsettling. Her husband knew the whole story. And without her initial knowledge, he started making casual inquiries about Joe Morelli. He had a couple of acquaintances in the Trenton P.D. and he'd met with them a few times at Pino's where he heard some old stories of what a great cop Morelli had been. There are still some around who worked with him."

"Why the hell would he do that?" Tank asked.

"I guess it started out because Cally had expressed an interest in knowing more about her father. Ben, her husband, thought he could gather some information, quietly. He told her what he'd done, but other than find out that Joe Morelli had a good rep and was a minor legend in the department, he got nothing."

"And then he was killed," Tank said, "by a hit and run driver who plowed into him while he had another car stopped."

"Yes, and she saw the similarities immediately. She kept it to herself, until she told me. But after her husband was killed, she went to her father-in-law and told him she'd feel more secure with a gun."

"But concealed carry is a hard thing to get in Jersey these days," Tank said.

"True," Ranger agreed. "Her father-in-law is retired Newark PD. He quit the force after his son was killed. He pulled some strings, made sure she had the appropriate training and helped her get the permit. I told her that a gun didn't keep me from being run-down, so she promised to be aware of her surroundings and I think she'll be careful."

"Do we need to get someone on her?" Tank asked. "We're officially out of business, but we still have contacts."

"That we do," Ranger said. "I've got something in mind. I'll take care of it."