We see how Ranger was interacting with their target's wife during the takedown, and Stephanie finds out Ranger will be at the President's side at the rally.
Ranger
I walked into the conference room where Stephanie and Mary were sitting. They were pouring over a large diagram and going over details. Steph turned to look at me, a huge smile on her face. "Hey Ranger. Have you seen the final assignments?"
I smiled back at her. I was doing that so often now. The military spent years training me to hide every emotion, and it was all undone by a smiling brunette. I might have to practice my impassive face before tomorrow. Can't look intimidating with a giant grin.
"I haven't. Want to share?"
She was smiling so hard I thought it must hurt. "You're guarding the President while he's on the rope line." she squealed. I was pleased as much by her reaction as by the job assignment. Having her be so excited for me amped up my own feelings. Sure, I had done many jobs that were more difficult, and that used my skills more, but the privilege of guarding the President was still…
"This is so neat!" she burst out, giving me a giant hug. My eyes swung to Mary, who seemed to be trying to hide her own smile. Stephanie's enthusiasm was infectious, even for people as hardened as us.
I gave her a peck on the head, then pulled back to look her in the eyes. "Rangeman got quite a check last night, in no small part thanks to you and your quick thinking. I was wondering if you would like to go spend a bit of it on a nice dinner tonight? There's a great French place in Hamilton Township that Tank has been raving about."
Stephanie looked at me in surprise. "Tank eats French food? I figured he survived on wheat germ and broiled chicken."
"You'd be surprised. Tank is quite the foodie. Always knows the best restaurants. He used to cook for everyone sometimes when he was living here. He'd take over Ella's kitchen and whip up some exotic food from a country where he had been stationed."
"I don't suppose he was ever stationed in Italy?"
"No. but you'd be amazed at how well he cooks Pakistani food."
She smiled at me again. "Dinner out sounds great. When should I be ready by?"
I looked at Mary. "How much more work do you two have? Will she be done by 4?"
Mary nodded. "We've gone over most of what we need to already. This should be over in a few hours."
I nodded. "How about we meet at 5? We don't want too late a night, since we have to get up early for the rally tomorrow."
Mary seemed impatient to get back to work, and went back to pointing at the diagram in front of her. I sat down to look at it too.
Stephanie
I looked at the map, trying to absorb every detail. I was thrilled for Ranger, and nervous for myself. What if I didn't do a good job? What if I missed something? What if I missed something and someone got hurt?
Focus Stephaine. Pay attention. I looked down at the map while Mary explained.
:-:-:
+ Stage ++ Tower/ |
+ ++ Beast |
+ ++ |` +```````````````````````````````````````````x`o+````````````+
`-+/-...:/:x...
``.-.. Roped Off `.-.`
``-...` `...-.``
VIP Crowd
-.
General Crowd
"The President and other Elected Officials will be on stage for the rally. He'll leave the Beast, his armored car, here under this tower. There will be curtains around the base of it, creating an enclosed space so he's not visible from outside the secured area. That will reduce the risk of sniper attacks. A semi-circular space in front of the stage will be roped off. There will be Secret Service every 15 feet here watching the crowd, Frank will be with them. Ranger, you and Tank wait here with the agents at the bottom of the stage, and when POTUS comes down into the crowd, walk with him. You'll be joined by 2 other agents. Tank, you walk in front, Ranger, behind. The agents will be directly next to POTUS."
"Why are Tank and Ranger with the President when there are so many agents there already?"
Many raised an eyebrow at Ranger, who cleared his throat uncomfortably. "A few things. I offered a discount for our services, and pulled a few strings. I wasn't 100% sure that we'd get the assignment, but I'm pleased we did. Also, Tank and I have done things like this before, but I can't tell you anymore than that."
Well now I was curious. "Not even if I say pretty please?"
He shook his head solemnly. "Sorry Babe, it's classified. I'll see you in a few hours."
Then he kissed me on the top of my head, and was gone.
"Wow, I barely saw him leave. Does he do that a lot?" Mary asked, looking around her.
"You get used to it." I replied, and sat back down at the table.
Ranger
I left the conference room and headed down to the garage, double checking the address scribbled on a sticky note that Bobby had given me. He might not be a full doctor, but he had obviously studied handwriting at the same place. I climbed into my Porsche, programmed the GPS, and pulled out of the garage. I had an appointment to keep.
I pulled into a parking spot in front of an old white townhouse. The streets of the small suburban community were quiet on a Sunday, the college students who would normally be wandering around were nowhere to be seen. I climbed out, beeped the car shut, and ascended the stairs to the second story of the narrow building.
I was met at the top of the staircase by a blonde woman with short hair and a kind face. "Carlos Manoso?" she asked, extending a hand.
"Ranger is fine."
"Ranger then. Would you like to have a seat?"
I looked in the room where she directed me. There was an overstuffed couch against the wall, but behind the couch was a window. The wall closest to the hall had two doors, with a bookcase containing a combination of books and toys on it, and a dollhouse next to it on the between them. Two comfortable chairs were in the middle of the room, facing the couch. The back wall had a desk with a computer, some filing cabinets, and a clear view of another window. This room was set up to make most people feel comfortable. Unfortunately, I'm not most people. None of the chairs had a back to the wall, at least, not one that didn't have glass in clear sight. If I was going to relax here, I needed to change the seating arrangement.
"Would you mind if I moved some things around?" I asked, hoping she would understand.
"Sure" the woman said. "Do you need help…"
Her voice faded as I picked up the easy chair, turned, and placed it in front of the second door, keeping my back to the wall as much as possible, and out of sight from the two windows from all but the most extreme angle. It wasn't perfect, but it was the most secure I was going to feel in that room.
After blinking a few times at the display of raw lifting ability, she scooched the other chair across the floor so that she would be facing me. "If you're feeling comfortable now Ranger, would you like to begin your treatment?"
I nodded, looking more confident than I felt.
Bobby, what the hell have you gotten me into?