Chapter 3

I had travelled with Sally to his house to spend a few hours before he took me close to the bus stop where I could catch a bus to the bus station. His housemate was away, so there was no one to scrutinize the strange woman that he had brought home. I'd planned on boarding a bus that would arrive in Washington at about 11am that meant leaving the house at 7am. God I was tired, but there was no way could I even dose, I was a bag of nerves. The bus was packed which was good and I soon settled myself midway, against the window, it was actually entertaining how people looked at me and avoided me. I pulled up my hoodie to cover my face, wrapped my rucksack against my chest and pulling my knees up did manage to get some sleep. It was warm and quiet with few stops and I knew that where I was going was the last stop. As I exited the bus at the station in Washington I stood looking around for the exit sign then made my way through the ticket barrier, there seemed to be more police on duty here, maybe because of terrorist threats. As I came into the grand entrance I caught sight of the baggage lockers. I went to buy a coffee, sat down and watched the area around me as I drank, just to be sure there wasn't anyone obviously watching me. With the key in my hand I walked over and opened the locker that corresponded to the key, inside I found another small box similarly wrapped to the previous one, but with no name on it, attached to the outside was a plain sealed envelope. I put the box and envelope straight into my rucksack, closed it up, and put it across my chest so I was holding onto it. OK that seemed to go well, now to find somewhere private to sit and read the letter and look inside the box. I walked straight out of the station and on the other side of two major roads was Lower Senate Park, an ideal place to sit in view but in private. Walking down the street I stopped at the lights, then as the traffic came to a stop I walked across the roads. The noise from all the traffic was certainly louder than I was used to, and at one point there seemed to be cars coming from every direction. Walking quickly I crossed over to the park and found a bench underneath a large oak tree. As I brought the envelope out I realized I was shaking slightly, god what I wouldn't give to have Ranger by my side, I breathed in through my mouth and out of my nose and when I felt calm I opened the letter to read it.

"My dearest Stephanie if you are reading this letter then I am so proud of you. You have placed your trust in me and now I will place my trust in you. You are to be the courier of my important documents and that is your only job. I know that you will accomplish this. In the box there is the copy of a reservation for a hotel room where you can rest and look further at the route that I am sending you on. Trust no one, they are not whom they appear to be. The hotel is the Kimpton George Hotel, 15 E St NW, Washington, DC. Take a taxi to get there, but first remove some of your disguise so they won't remember you.

I'll be with you in spirit

Beatrice"

I put the letter and box back inside the rucksack and looked around trying to figure out how to lose some of my disguise, there were some public toilets ahead so with my hood back up over my head, I went inside a cubicle, I was pleasantly surprised at the cleanliness. I removed all of my facial jewelry, hell that felt better, they'd really begun to irritate where they were pushed on. Next the wig came off, again a sigh of relief to get some fresh air to my scalp, though the look of the braids seemed strange, the eye lenses were last. I then removed a blue shawl from inside my bag; I'd put it in last minute in case I got cold. Much better, with the hoodie back on I strolled out of the toilets and made my way to the edge of the park, as I walked I removed the hoodie and adjusted the shawl around my shoulders, giving myself a much more normal appearance. I found a taxi rank outside the park entrance, the driver tried to chat and I was polite, and fortunately the hotel wasn't far. Once inside a young receptionist exchanged my booking sheet for a keycard and I was able to finally close the door behind me. I leaned against the door and surveyed my surroundings; the room was spacious with a seating area, a desk and chair, and a bed that was calling my name. I used the bathroom and eyed up the bath remembering the way Ranger had helped me to relax, I really missed being able to talk with him. I decided to investigate the box and see where Beatrice was sending me to next. I re-read the letter and took out the contents of the box. There was a plane ticket heading for New Orleans, wow first class and another id. The picture was similar to the first but not quite so outrageous. I still had the short, black hair and brown eyes, but no body piercings. The ticket and id had the name Erényes Barak born in Philadelphia who worked as a freelance artist. Well I hoped no one asked me to paint anything, though I was good when it came to design, especially since I once helped out in the studio for E E Martin. There was another letter with the flight information detailing what I was to do in New Orleans and the name of a hotel I had reservations for. I would need to be at the airport for 8 am to board at 9, and then endure a three-hour flight. It was only early afternoon but I didn't want to risk going outside, so I undressed and lay on the bed with the intention of thinking, OK you guessed, I fell asleep. By early evening I had showered, struggling to only add shampoo to the braids in my hair, I'm not sure how long I would keep these in for. I wore the hotel robe from the bathroom and perused the room service menu. Yes room service was definitely at the top of my list, and they had an amazing choice. I ordered lasagna with garlic bread, tiramisu and a half bottle of wine, I was going to enjoy my wondrous meal and settle in front of the TV. While waiting for room service I applied the lotion Sally had given to me for my hair and I must admit it did make it feel softer. When there was a knock at the door I nearly jumped, room service? I looked through the peephole and spied a young man pushing a cart. I opened the door letting him into the room; I gave him a few dollars tip then settled down for the night.

Chapter 4

I awoke at a little past five, not by the alarm but from my brain over thinking. I was becoming increasingly concerned for Steph, I felt a chasm in my chest, I had never not known where she was. I had never been too far away to know when she was in danger or needed help. Neither Tank nor Santos had any good news to give me, they were pretty sure she wasn't in the area and I conferred with that only based on a feeling I had for when she was near. If she had left the area there were no leads from any camera footage from bus, train or airport departures. No hire cars seemed to match and none of her friends had lent her a car or taken her anywhere. She truly was in the wind. I missed her in a way I never expected to, the stolen kisses, and the touch of her, hell, even her smell and certainly her vivacious and caring attitude. But most of all I felt as though a piece of me was missing, did I take her for granted? Did I give back to her what she so freely gave to me? On entering the gym I was pleased to see the newbies were being put through their paces and each one did seem to be more focused on their activities. I went through my routine probably running harder than normal but I needed to vent some pent up energy. I spied Tank about to leave the area.

"Tank you fancy taking a stroll down Stark and rattling some cages?"

He stopped, turned and gave me an evil look.

"Hell yeah I'm up for that, we chasing some Intel on those so called groups the FBI are after?"

"Yes, I thought it might be worth our while to get ahead of the game, I'll meet you downstairs in 40, bring two other guys, your choice"

After showering I dressed in my "Stark Street Ranger" persona, as Steph would call it. Black cargos, hoodie over Kevlar, cat boots and more weapons than usual, adding the gold stud and enough gold chains to start a jewelry store I was more than ready for action. Tank, Cal and Santos were waiting in the garage next to a black SUV.

"Ready to rock n roll"

Santos could be the joker and lover boy but as a lethal weapon there was no one to surpass him, except maybe me. The beasts we contained were obviously keen to play. We decided to hit the streets according to the gangs that were represented, each of us taking the lead where that would give us the most benefit. We pulled up in front of a bar where the Hispanics tended to congregate, I took lead on this one, Santos was with me while Tank and Cal stood guard outside the door, we didn't need to be here if anything kicked off.

"Qué hay de nuevo en las calles?"

"Hablar de problemas"

"Who from?"

"Not sure, but they don't seem to like us"

"What trouble?"

"Deals gone wrong, attacks"

"Are the other gangs giving you trouble?"

"Don't know, always at night and they sneaky"

"Let me know if you find out anything more"

I left the bar where the Hispanics were playing pool.

Next up were The Bloods, mainly made up of African-Americans. The gang was widely known for its rivalry against another rival gang, known as the Crips, and was identified by the color red and for the specific gang symbols worn by their members. I decided to let Tank lead with them, as he would be the closest of us to their coloring. But we needed to be aware that The Bloods could comprise of sub-groups that had significant differences in political ideas, and that could be in open conflict with each other. I stayed outside as my presence might detract from any information they might give. After only ten minutes Tank re entered the SUV.

"Similar story to what we heard before, but there's no selection as to who is being hit, I'm getting a nasty feeling in my gut on this one"

One last group to speak to and this was where Santos would take the lead, another African American gang but as they were enemies with the previous two groups we'd spoken with it would be interesting to see how they were affected. Santos and Cal went through the open gates and after a complicated handshake sat on a bench to talk with three of the members, while Tank and I kept watch on the streets. These boys were on the basketball court so while they may have the numbers we'd let them see we had the firepower.

"They're not happy, they reckon someone's out to get them and not just by disrupting supplies, but also through beatings and in some cases murder. There's concern for some of their ho's disappearing as well"

"Santos get in touch with Adams from vice and see if he has anything"

Santos had a good relationship with this particular officer, probably because they frequented some of the same clubs and most probably the same beds.

"Let's head back and do some of our own conversations then meet in an hour."

We all had our own snitches or someone with a closer eye on the street. Once we were back at Rangeman and in my office, I picked up my phone and started, I had three people to talk to.

"Good afternoon this is Vincent Plum Bail Bonds, How may I help?"

"Connie, is Lula there to talk to?"

"Sure I'll put her on Ranger"

"Mmm it's me"

"Lula I've heard that some ladies on the street might be having some problems, what do you know?"

"Ain't good Ranger, spoke with Jackie an she ses a lot of them there girls are crapping themsels"

"You know who?"

"Not the usual, these are outta towners riding them big bikes, they's bin tellin em to get off of the street or else"

"Are you aware of this new group?"

"There's more white dudes around, big n brawny n loud. I hear's they's hangin somewhere down by the docks"

"Thanks Lula and you be careful out there"

"Hey wait, don't you hang up on me, when's my white girl home?"

"When she finishes"

With that I finished the call. Interesting Lula could be a hive of information and she didn't really know it. Next was Nicki Delfaldo, he worked, if you could call it that, for any mafia boss who paid the right price. Each boss had his own turf and dealt from racketeering, prostitution, drug running to arms, you name it they did it, as long as they kept away from someone else's turf there was peace.

"Nicki it's Ranger, you free to speak?"

"Sure what's rolling my man?"

"You hear of any problems the bosses might be having?"

"Nah all's quiet between them, though there's some trespassing by someone else"

"Any ideas on who?"

"Outsiders is all I hear"

"Thanks Nicki let me know if that changes?"

"Sure, then you'll owe me one"

I had an idea of what we might be up against, but needed to see what the others had found out. We met in my office and from the anticipation it seemed most had found out something to tell.

"All right, Santos?"
"Adams is aware of drugs moving through different routes and he's pretty sure that it's stuff taken from some of the gangs. A few gang members have turned up dead, interestingly from different gangs"

"Tank?"

"We seem to have a new group in town or at least groups working together, lot of vibes on the street and not just from gang members but everyone"

"I spoke with Lula who has an interesting view of the streets. Street women threatened, especially round Stark. She also mentioned a lot of bikers and big brawny white guys hanging out down by the docks. No problems between the Bosses, just losing some of their trade"

Cal was the first one to say it out loud, you could almost see his skull tattoo go through the thinking process.

"White bikers, Warlocks and Outlaws?"

"Could explain who, not sure why or why here"

Cal got up and walked around the table then stood against the back of the chair.

"I could get undercover, not sure who else would fit the bill"

Tank grimaced.

"You want to tell me Ranger, why we would want to get involved with this?"

"I honestly don't know, maybe a gut reaction that if we do we might be ahead of the shit storm when it flies?"

"Well let me do some noseying around for a couple of days and see what I find?"

In the end we agreed with Cal, going on his own to start with, to gather what info he could, without getting involved with any activities. Hector would fit him up with a wire, tracker, panic button and ear bud and we would dedicate Binkie as his comms rep, or partner. Cal was OK with this, but he wanted top of the line equipment that couldn't be detected. It was the end of the day for me but I decided to stay on five and grab a sandwich, I had paperwork to get on with, and to be honest there was no way I could sit upstairs on seven on my own and relax, I couldn't relax until I knew that Steph was safe.