Chapter 33

Cally was curled up on the sofa, a pillow clutched to her abdomen. She looked up as her mother and Carlos entered the room. "Are you sure you don't want to go out to dinner with us?" Stephanie asked.

"Ugh, no, you two go ahead," Cally said. "I shouldn't have had that extra bowl of ice cream. It was too much. Luke and his dad should be back soon, and they may want to go grab a burger later. I'll wait for them."

Stephanie was wearing a simple blue dress with some really high heels. Cally wondered if her mom knew those were called FMPs. She doubted her mother had ever heard the term, but they looked great on her. She looked fabulous but it wasn't just the dress and shoes. It was something from within. Happiness, Cally supposed. It was overdue for her mother.

Carlos was standing behind her mother, his hand resting lightly on her shoulder. He looked fabulous, too. It might be fun to go out with them just to see the attention they attracted. And to make things even better they were going out with Althea and Tank. That would be some foursome.

The doorbell rang. "That's Althea and Tank," Stephanie said. "Ranger asked them to come here instead of us meeting at the restaurant. There's something we want to talk to you about."

"Oh, great! More talk!"

Stephanie smiled. "You might like this talk."

When Tank and Althea stepped into the room, Cally stood and stared. "Wow, Tank. You look…wow!"

"It's the suit. Right?" he asked. "I wore it when I first went to Althea's office. It does stuff to her." Althea punched him in the arm.

"Tank, you look so handsome," Stephanie said. "I've never seen you so dressed up."

"When Ranger told me he was closing RangeMan I thought I'd better upgrade my wardrobe. Didn't know what I was going to be doing next."

"What are you going to be doing?" Stephanie asked. "Do you know?"

"I've got a plan," he said. "I don't want to talk about it right now." He turned to Ranger. "Carl get off okay?"

"Yeah, Lester and Luke took him to the airport. They're at the gym looking over Lester's new place of business."

Tank looked at his watch. "We don't have much time before our reservation, and you said you wanted to talk."

Ranger pulled Stephanie close against him. She looked over her shoulder at him and they shared a secretive smile. "This won't take long," Ranger said. "I need you and Althea to do something for me. If you're up for it."

"Sure," Tank said.

"Don't you want to know what it is?" Ranger asked.

"No. If you need it done, I'll do it."

"I'd like to know," Althea said.

"I don't blame you for wanting the facts after some of the things you've been asked to do lately," Ranger said. "This one is simple. Stephanie is going back to Trenton next week. She's going to reconnect with people who think she's been dead for over twenty years, and …"

"And you need some grease," Tank interrupted. "You need someone to smooth the way for her."

Ranger raised an eyebrow. "Grease is one way to say it," he said. "I was thinking more along the lines of an advance team. Someone to talk to the people she wants to reconnect with."

"That's an excellent idea," Althea said. "Tank and I will be happy to do that for you, Stephanie."

"And for me," Cally piped up. "I'd like to meet my aunts. I have two of them. One on Mom's side and one on my father's side."

Stephanie took a deep breath. "You also have a grandmother, Cally. Joe's mom is still alive." Her eyes filled with tears, and Cally knew she was missing her own grandmother.

"That's great, Mom. Maybe we can go see her together."

"Yes," Stephanie said. Cally could see she was struggling to keep her composure. Ranger saw it, too.

"Enough about that for now," he said. "We've got more favors to ask, don't we, Babe?"

"We do," she said giving her fiancé a grateful look. "You go first."

"Stephanie and I are spending a week in Trenton and the surrounding area. At the end of that week, we're getting married at a small private ceremony at my parents' home in Newark. Pierre, would you be my best man?"

Cally's eyes widened at the name Pierre. She saw Tank's irritation at Ranger's use of it. These men were so cute!

"It would be my honor, Rangeman, but if you call me by that name again, I'll flatten you," Tank said.

Cally's mother came to her and sat next to her on the sofa. "Will you be my maid of honor, Cally?"

Cally's grin was huge. "When can we go dress shopping?"

It was a celebratory dinner. They had champagne and Tank in his new role as best man raised his glass in a toast. "To Ranger and Stephanie," he said. "May they have a long, happy and uneventful life together!" They all drank to his toast.

"We don't need an uneventful life," Stephanie told Tank. "Just one where the events are happy ones, and nobody gets maimed or killed."

"I'll drink to that," Ranger said.

"Where are you going on your honeymoon?" Althea asked.

"We're coming back home after New Jersey," Stephanie said. "We want to get into a routine of everyday living as soon as we can."

"That can also be interpreted as Stephanie doesn't want to give up too much control to her new partner, although she is excited about the partnership," Ranger said.

"That's not true," Stephanie protested. "I trust Lester. I just want to get on with life."

"Althea and I will take a honeymoon for you," Tank said. "We've got a little something planned."

"What! You're getting married!" Stephanie exclaimed.

"It's not a honeymoon," Althea said. "It's just a vacation. Tank and I tried marriage once and it didn't work out."

"I didn't know," Stephanie said.

"We weren't really married," Tank said. "We worked undercover as a married couple. I thought things went pretty good until…well, we're not getting married anytime soon, but maybe someday. Althea's against long-distance relationships."

"But D.C. isn't that far from Trenton," Stephanie said. "And you're not really committed to Trenton anyway, are you?"

"I'm not, and I'm not planning on staying in Trenton. I was thinking of moving to…Georgia."

Ranger who'd been content to sit back and listen to most of the conversation now became fully involved. "Are we getting ready to discuss whatever it was you wanted to talk about?" he asked Tank.

"Yeah, I think this would be a good time," Tank said. "You ready to hear all this?"

"We're ready," Ranger said.

"Well to start with there was a lot of information that didn't come out at today's meeting," Tank said. "I could tell Cally was full up, and quite a bit of what we know doesn't pertain to her and Stephanie, so I let it go. The main thing I wanted you to know is that Mrs. Smith, aka Mrs. Gregg—the Vietnamese wife, or should I say widow, isn't Vietnamese. She's Chinese."

"And that's significant why?"

"Her family is part of the Triad, and they operate out of the Golden Triangle."

"I don't understand," Stephanie said.

"Opium used to be a big Chinese export," Tank said. "Now it's heroin. We're basically talking about Chinese organized crime, how they get their drugs out of China and where they go from there. I'm not an expert, but I know there is a Southeast Asia to South America connection. Gregg was married to a woman who was connected, and he sent operatives to South and Central America on a regular basis. That needs to be looked at closely and that's why Althea and I are taking a trip to Vietnam."

"This is potentially very big," Ranger said. "It needs to be competently and thoroughly investigated. Which government agency are you going to take this to?"

Tank's smile was broad. "None. It's going to be the first case for RangeMan Investigations. Silvio's onboard. Costanza's onboard after he retires, and Althea wants to be involved. She's eligible for retirement before too long and once she's out of her present office, she'll join the team."

Ranger and Stephanie looked at Althea who didn't speak but smiled and nodded her agreement with what Tank had said.

"I'm not familiar with RangeMan Investigations," Ranger said.

"Shit, man," Tank said. "Is your memory going? Clear back when you were in rehab you asked me if I was interested in joining you in your new venture."

"I remember that," Ranger said. "I don't remember forming RangeMan Investigations."

"You didn't, so I had to. I got you a staff, and a name. Silvio has so much information to go through that we need a permanent office and employees to process it. I've done research into what's involved to form this type of organization legally in Georgia, and I've found a place for the office. All you have to do is dig out your permission to still use the RangeMan name and say you're on board."

"I'm onboard, potentially," Ranger said. "Beyond the bigger picture there are still questions to be answered regarding Stephanie, myself, the Grizollis, and tainted cops inside Trenton PD."

"Yeah, of course," Tank said. "And we have to figure out how Stephanie was funded for her first few years here. We still don't have a good handle on the money trail, domestic or international…and you know there is an international trail."

"Are you thinking the money that Brian gave me in the beginning might have come from illegal drugs?" Stephanie asked.

"There's more than a chance, Babe," Ranger said. "Or it might have been from Federal money he misappropriated. What he did in relocating you was illegal, so it stands to reason your funding would be illegal."

"I hate the thought of that," Stephanie said. "I used some of that money for my initial investment in Antiope. It's like my whole life was built on something illegal."

Ranger heard the anguish in her voice and had a thought he filed away for later. He focused back on Tank's outrageous plan. "Where do you propose to locate this new business venture?" he asked Tank.

"In your new house. That big pink ugly palace is big enough to hold a small suite of offices."

"No go," Ranger said immediately. "For one thing, it's a gated community and isn't zoned commercial, and for another…it's going to be our home."

"All right," Tank said unfazed. "We'll find another place, but we have to do it soon. Silvio is even willing to come to us, and it takes a lot to get him to leave his home these days. There are years of information to sort through."

Ranger took Stephanie's hand. "How do you feel about this? I won't do it unless you are in full agreement that it needs to happen. You are my priority."

"How do I feel?" Stephanie asked. "I feel angry. I've felt hurt and scared and sad and now after all these years, I'm angry. I think it needs to happen. RangeMan needs to come back to life, and I have a place for your office."

"Here in town?" Tank asked.

"Yes. Lester and I are expanding down by the marina. The price was right, and the location is great, but it's way too big. We've talked a little about using half the space and renting the other half out to a new business. There's a private entrance and it would work perfect for the offices of RangeMan Investigations."

"That's great," Tank said. "We'll probably have to let Lester play since he is going to own half the building."

"Stephanie," Ranger said. "Think about this for a while. You're agreeing to let me take part in a new business venture that could be very time-consuming. It will impact not just my life, but yours as well. Are you sure you are okay with this?"

"I'm okay with it," she said. "I do have one condition."

"There's always a condition," Tank said, and Ranger shot him a dark look.

"My condition is that I am involved in every aspect. I'm not giving up my gym, but if RangeMan Investigations comes into being, I'm part of it."

"Babe."

"Don't 'Babe' me, Batman! You're not forming the Justice League without me!"

After they'd parted ways with Tank and Althea, Ranger and Stephanie visited the pink house. "It's ours now," Ranger said.

"That was quick!" Stephanie said. "I thought it took a long time to buy a house."

"Cash facilitates things."

"You paid cash? Ranger, how rich are you?"

"I'm comfortable," he said. "And that's something I want to talk to you about. C'mon, let's take a walk around to the patio where we can talk for a while." They pulled a blanket from behind the seat of Stephanie's Porsche and made their way to the patio. Stephanie pulled her dress up above her knees to facilitate sitting and started to kick off her shoes. Ranger's hand on her thigh stopped her.

"Don't take the shoes off," he said. "That's my job, but I've something to say first."

Her stomach flip-flopped at the intense look he was giving her. She nodded and sat awkwardly on the blanket, her skirt riding up to mid-thigh. Ranger dropped beside her also a little awkwardly due to his brace. They looked at one another and laughed.

"You were upset, at the restaurant," he said, "when you realized that your exodus from Trenton had been funded with illegal funds."

"Yes. It never occurred to me before."

"How much was it that he gave you?"

"About a half million, but it was over almost five years. After that last payment I heard from him only when my parents and grandma passed. He always assured me the danger was real and present, so when I stopped hearing from him, I just assumed it still wasn't safe. I was a fool!"

"You're not a fool, but I understand how you feel. I risked my life many times, and I was doing it for monetary reward, but at the same time I knew I was doing something to benefit my country. Now I have to wonder if I was doing something to benefit Gregg's bank account. Which brings us back to the money."

"The ill-gotten money I used to fund Antiope."

"You realize none of this was in your control?" he asked. "We can't give the money back, because we don't know where or how he got it, but I've been thinking since dinner. Pick a charity, something that's important to you and I'll make a donation in your name. Half a million."

"Ranger! That's a wonderful idea, and I'll pick one. But you're not going to pay. I'll make the donation."

"You can afford that?"

"I can," she said.

"How rich are you, Babe?"

She gave him a big toothy smile. "I'm comfortable."

He leaned into her and gave her a long lingering kiss. He took her hand and placed it on the front of his pants. "I'm getting uncomfortable."

"I could, maybe, remedy that," she said.

"I think getting comfortable should be mutual," he responded. "Let me help you with your shoes."

Later as they walked arm in arm back to the car Stephanie asked, "Do you think that was a little juvenile, making love on the patio?"

"Juvenile? No. To be truthful, it was a little painful, a lot enjoyable and completely necessary. It was the beginning of our journey. We're going to make love in every room, hallway, nook and cranny of this monstrous house we're making our home."

"That's a bold statement. We're old. Do you think we have it in us?" she asked.

"I do. It won't be a speedy journey, but that's okay. We have the rest of our lives, Babe."

…not quite the end