Chapter 8 - Ranger 02/10/2019
Ranger was still en route to Arlington, but he pulled over and whipped out his phone and dialed Sylvio. "What do we know about the firm that purchased SE Corp?" Ranger asked. "Nothing substantial," Sylvio said. The firm is owned by an oil and gas tycoon and run by the family's youngest daughter, a trust fund spoiled daddy's girl-type. She also has a history of mental illness – that's not exactly public record, but when I was checking backgrounds I found that she spent some time in a mental health facility in upstate NY a few years ago." "Were her records sealed?" Ranger asked. "Yes," Sylvio said, "but not because she was a minor. I'm sure it had to do with her social status. I think the firm is something of a distraction for the girl. She needed something to do so why not hand her a multi million dollar business to run. Why the question – something got your gears turning?" Sylvio asked.
"I can't shake the feeling that I'm somehow being tested or that someone is playing with me," Ranger said. "I don't think it's SE Corp, I worked very closely with them for months so they know what I'm capable of. Keep digging. I want you to get some more background on this woman. Find out everything you can about her relationships - who she may have met while in treatment, who she associates with now, who her boyfriends are. Also, see if you can get more info on why they purchased SE Corp in the first place." "Will do," Sylvio said.
Ranger got back on the road and headed for Arlington. Hal, Raul, and Ice were waiting when Ranger pulled in. "What's the plan, boss?" Hal said. Ranger had a roster of everyone who worked in the Arlington office and they planned to systematically speak with everyone. They would gather as much information as possible and report back with any credible tips or suspects. Ranger was going to focus on running a program that Sylvio created through all of the onsite computers to see if he could determine if any of the stolen information was ever stored or copied. "I want to know about every suspicion," Ranger said to his men. "I will personally deal with anyone who may have anything to contribute to the investigation."
SE Corp's Arlington office was located in a multi story complex in the center of the city's business district. It occupied 3 floors, plus they rented some storage space in the basement. SE Corp's Human Resources, Finance, and Marketing teams were located on floors 2 and 3, while most of the IT Support and desktop operations teams were located on the 1st floor. The Rangeman team arrived at the office at 7am and met with the management team to discuss the plan of action. After another night of tossing and turning, Ranger was at least glad for the distraction of having something to focus on. He was running short on both time and patience.
Ranger stayed on the ground floor to start his computer work while Hal and the others started on the 3rd floor. Ranger spent most of the morning reading through output reports and speaking with Sylvio about any results that were flagged by the program. After turning up nothing, Ranger was preparing to go join his men when Sylvio called. Sylvio was checking the inventory of computers against the ones that Ranger scanned when he came up short. "According to the inventory sheet," Sylvio said, "they keep another computer in the basement where they rent their storage space," "I'll go check it out," Ranger said. He called Hal and told him where he was headed and rode the elevator down to the basement.
Ranger found the storage area, but couldn't locate the computer. The place was packed with wall-to-wall stuff; there were boxes upon boxes of records, old phone equipment and furniture, and what looked like marketing promotional items and signage. The promotional items read "Uniquely Yours – Wealth Management Services Corp." He remembered that when the firm purchased SE Corp they rebranded the company and changed the name. He was about to call Sylvio to see if he could tell him the meaning behind the new name when he felt something sharp pierce his neck and everything went black.
Ranger awoke to a black boot kicking him in the leg. His arms were cuffed behind his back and his legs were shackled to the floorboard of some type of panel van. It was dark in the van. His vision was blurred, but he could hear someone talking to him. The black boot kicked Ranger harder, and he grunted and shook his head to try and clear the cobwebs.
"Time to wake up," an all too familiar voice said to him. Ranger looked the man in the eye, but couldn't believe who he was seeing. "The game's about to begin."