29. Me-ow

The remainder of Lil's first week of Rangeman work was equally exhilarating and exhausting. Though, most of the exhaustion was due to the fact that she hadn't worked a normal job in quite some time. Learning all the facets of each department first-hand was interesting. The men had really accomplished something spectacular in the security world. The Rangeman enterprise was comprehensive, well planned, and well structured. The services offered to clients and businesses were beyond reproach. Lil was pleased to see that every client, no matter their status, received the absolute best in equipment and customer service. Tuesday and Wednesday were packed full. Between trying to locate and implement new ordering techniques with Tank and then learning the entire sales contract process with Lester, Lil's brain was on overload. She had been offering ideas and solutions in rapid fire. The men were eating it up. Thursday was much more bearable. She was able to fit her range time in that morning. Ram was handling his inventory well, but told Lil she was always welcome to come down and shoot paper criminals if she got bored. After lunch, she helped Bobby input some of his gadgets and gizmos, or needles and gauze pads, into the inventory system. It was a tedious but necessary job. When they were done, he treated her to a final round of AIS and acupressure. Oh joy.

When Lil made it back to her office hallway, very sore and a little grumpy, she heard her daughter's giggle from behind Ranger's door. Not bothering to knock, she opened it quietly, suddenly very curious. She found them sitting on his couch, a pile of flash cards in front of them. She watched as Ranger held up a card for Tilde to see. His handwriting was unmistakable. Lil's heart beat a little faster, he had taken the time to do this for her child. Tilde pointed to the card, "F. O. X. Fox." She smiled with true pride. "Si, Querida. Fox or Zorro. Very good Tilde! Muy Bueno!" Tilde clapped and looked at Lil. "Mommy, look what Mr. Carlos made me!" Lil scanned the small stack of note cards, each containing a different word. "Mr. Carlos says when I learn these, I will be able to read this book. All by myself!" In her lap sat the iconic Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss. "That's wonderful Peanut." Lil placed her hand on Ranger's shoulder. "So you're helping her to read and teaching her Spanish?" Her question could have been construed as a sign of displeasure, if it wasn't for the way her fingers were rubbing softly over his back. "She's so bright Lil. It's amazing. I hope you don't mind." He looked so proud of Tilde, so pleased to be able to work with her, teach her. "Of course not Carlos. It's good for Tilde to have different people helping her learn. Usually it's just the two of us." She gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "If you run out of materials, we have a load of books upstairs, help yourself anytime. I'm sure you can let yourself in. And Carlos, eres muy amable."

Ranger and Lil were both sensing the shift in their relationship. It was subtle, but couldn't be ignored. It was also hard to describe. They had definitely moved into the early stages of a good friendship. Circumstances as they were, also now made them co-workers. As they sat in Ranger's office on Friday, the air around them felt different. A little electrified. Much more comfortable than a month ago. No one mentioned it of course. Ranger spent a good portion of their time together showing her all of the reports he received from each Rangeman branch. The numbers were staggering. Not just the dollar amounts flowing in and out of the company, but also the number of criminals caught and people protected. Lil sometimes found it hard to concentrate when he would lean in close to point out a specific column on a spreadsheet. Ranger lost focus any time she touched his hand to get his attention or ask a question. They bumped into each other a few times, Lil could have sworn the last time was on purpose. Yes, it was subtle. But it definitely couldn't be ignored.

Saturday the girls were having a dancing party in the living room when Ella came by for a visit. Lil could tell there was something on her mind. She served tea and biscuits while leading Ella to the couch. Tilde fixed imaginary dishes for Pua and Heihei. They chatted politely for a while, Lil told her about her first work week. When Ella brought up Christmas Lil smiled. "I don't have any major plans, Tilde and I celebrate but usually keep it low-key. It's always been just the two of us. What did you have in mind?" Ella's eyes were sparkling in that grandmotherly way. She told Lil how, like Thanksgiving, Rangeman tended to forget about the holidays in December. Both women agreed that wouldn't do this year. "Carlos is very tight lipped about Christmas though, he has some kind of aversion to the holiday specifically. He won't talk about it. I don't know what he'll let us do Cariña." Ella was obviously saddened by this. Lil rolled the statement around her brain, letting a plan fall into place. She held up her finger and pulled out her phone, opening her messages.

L: Can Rangeman celebrate the holidays with Tilde and I? This is the first year she will be old enough to appreciate it. And we would love to include all of you.

C: No secret Santa.

L: Lol. Yes Sir.

C: Dios. I like that.

L: Oh Geez. So Christmas Boss?

C: Do whatever you wish. Get with Ella. Turn in the receipts or get a Corp. card from Tank.

L: Thank you Carlos

C: Anything, Anytime

Lil snapped her phone shut and gave Ella a bright smile. "We're free to do whatever we want, but no secret Santa." Lil was laughing. Ella was overjoyed. She loved the winter holidays, they had always been her favorite. She had known Carlos his whole life, and had now worked with him for a few years. The fact that Lil was able to simply ask for this and get a positive answer was not missed by the wise woman. Ella was going to be keeping a closer eye on the two of them.

If the guys at Rangeman thought Thanksgiving was a big event, they had another thing coming. By the time Lil and Ella were done planning Christmas, three hours had passed. They covered everything from trees to decorations, lunches to dinners. There would be many hours spent baking cookies and making crafts with Tilde. Events were planned for both Christmas Eve and Christmas day, ensuring that everyone had a chance to participate. They had exactly two weeks to make it all happen. Both women were going to be exceedingly busy. Wanting to share their holiday spirit and do something worthwhile for the community, they decided to collect toy donations for Toys for Tots. Extra cookies would be baked for the VA, and a donation jar would be set up on five for the local soup kitchen. Lil's excitement was growing. Just because she wasn't able to go out and physically volunteer, didn't mean she couldn't do her part. Hopefully Ranger didn't live to regret not putting more stipulations on their holiday fun. Wonder if she could get one of the men to dress up like Santa?

Tilde was working on her tumbling Sunday morning when Lil received a text from Ranger.

C: Busy? I have news.

L: We're free.

C: My office or your apartment?

L: My apartment. Not dressed for fifth floor.

C: Then I'll walk faster.

Before Lil could respond he was knocking on her door. Ranger was not disappointed, her getup was both amusing and sexy. Lil was snuggled into a pink fleece pajama set made up of a hoodie with cat ears and very short shorts. She waved him into the apartment with a laughing 'hello'. When she turned around, he got a good look at her ass, which had cat whiskers and said MEOW. Me-ow was right. Her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail and the separators in her toes showed she was in the middle of painting when he interrupted. "I have the sudden urge to pet a cat", he was mumbling, but she got the gist. Lil hobbled over to the table, propping her unfinished foot on the opposite chair. She picked up her bottle of OPI Pompeii Purple, "So what's the damage Boss?" Thankfully, Tilde came skipping over to him for a hug and a kiss, otherwise he was having a hard time pulling his eyes away from Lil's long bare legs. Focus Manoso.

Lil listened while she finished up. "Erikson was spotted in New York, White Plains. It looks like he was heading to Connecticut." Lil capped her bottle. "Do you have anything tying him to Connecticut? That seems weird. Was he alone?" Ranger unconsciously clenched his fist. "Background and credit checks don't show a single connection to the state. I don't know if he's meeting someone or just passing through. He was alone, driving. My source wasn't able to get the make or model of his vehicle." Ugh, how frustrating. "I've sent one of my best men in Boston to try and intercept. But he's probably long gone. I can't figure why he bypassed Jersey. He has to know you're here by now." Lil nodded. "Maybe he has business somewhere else that's more pressing. Any word locally from the Families?" Ranger shook his head. Not having an answer, not being able to locate this dickhead, was really pissing him off. Ranger was the best for fuck's sake. Erikson was only a mid-level Mob wanna-be. It made no sense that he was still able to evade the police, the feds, and Rangeman. The only plausible explanation was that he had help. But who?