Chapter 15

By 9am I was ready to go, first stop the bonds office.

"Morning ladies"

Connie was working at the computer and Lula was sat on the couch eating. They both stopped what they were doing and looked at me, with a shake of her head Connie was the first to respond.

"Ranger, what the hell has happened to Steph?"

"What do you know Connie?"

"That she was involved somehow with that mess at that bank, but I can't get in touch with her, no one knows where she's at"

"What does Morelli say?"

"He's being real closed lipped, even the Burg is running itself in circles, some say she got herself arrested"
Lula struggled to stand then came over sitting her ass on the edge of the table.

"Word with the girls on the street is she went off with them bikers"

"Really"

"Lula you n me know that's just stupid"

"Yeah well she done told officer Hottie that he aint an item no more, so he won't have ought to say, and I heard he was there at that bank and shots were fired, I reckon she's dead"

"Lula that's an awful thing to say"

"Only tellin ya how I heard it"

Lula accent was getting stronger, meaning she was getting annoyed.

"Well she needs to get her skinny white ass back here, I miss 'err"

"Ladies I'd thought I'd let you know I'm heading down to the Miami office"

"What 'bout our Steph?"

"Nothing I can do Connie, Tank will be point man while I'm away"

With that I left, they really were concerned about Steph but had no idea about what had happened, interesting that the burg was so quiet. I headed to the police station to have a conversation, again to put the word around. As I walked in I saw Eddie, shit I didn't want him to think I was abandoning Steph, as he approached me I shook his hand.

"Going down to Miami Eddie, so won't be around, I have a lead I'm following through on"

He frowned and then as though his brain was picking up he smiled, and I could see he recognized I was going after Steph.

"This FTA a big one then?"

"You could say that"

"Well good luck"

And with that we had totally understood each other. Morelli came out with Agent Langley and made straight for me.

"Manoso"

"Morelli, Agent Langley"

"I told Langley here that your explosion was caused by a faulty piece of gas equipment"

"Yes it was, I don't know where you got your false information from Langley"

"Well Mr. Manoso it doesn't really matter, we've closed the case and have a culprit in custody"

"So I hear, I'm headed down to the Miami office for a while, can't afford to get tied up with whatever happened"

"Can't blame you there, I wouldn't like the association to a known terrorist to come out"

"Gentlemen"

I turned and left, I knew what I'd said was a lie, but the remark by Langley had me reeling, he hadn't come across as the complacent type, he seemed almost pleased with himself, something not right there. Had I misjudged him so badly when we first met? I asked Tank to look into Langley, I was thinking about the comment Santos had made about someone being there at the bank waiting, but hold on, how did they know to be ready and waiting inside the bank the morning Steph walked in?

"There's a leek here in Rangeman"

"Why did you say that?"

"Because until the planning meeting no one knew Steph was going to the bank, and the sting was put in place waiting for her"

"Ah shit Ranger, there were a lot of the guys involved with that"

"Find out who from here knew, then send me the list, I'll work on it at the same time"

"Go, before you think of anything else"

The flight down to Miami was packed and we spent as much time circling the airport as in the air, that's' why I preferred to fly by private jet. Juan met us at the airport but I resisted his questions until we reached the office. Once inside my office I dropped the stealth switch, I loved the look on Juan's face; he's my brother but has never really understood the clandestine work that I have often been involved with. The Miami office was pure business and never had any covert operations run from it.

"Shit Carlos this is serious, isn't it"

"If you consider kidnapping a terrorist, then I suppose so"

"Why would you do that?"

"When her name is Stephanie Plum"

Santos laughed, and Juan looked literally speechless. I explained to him the events at the bank and that I hadn't seen or spoken with her.

"Juan you know there are parts of my life I keep separate from family, I have another family, you'd probably call them brothers in arms. What we've been through together bonds us like nothing else, that's why Santos, Brown, Tank and I tend to stay together, well there are others and they are helping, so I can't tell you what's going to happen, only ask you to trust me, I don't want you linked in with me if anything goes wrong"

"I do understand Carlos, I see more than you think, and I have some idea of what you've involved yourself with and you as well Lester. I also see what Steph means to you and as a husband I know I'd do anything for my wife as well. So fill me in on what you need me to do and I'll do it"

"Thanks hermano"

I did what I have never done before I walked up to him and hugged him as I said it. We spent the rest of the evening going over the details of how Juan would maintain our cover, in the end I knew he would do it well. Santos was arranging for the loan of a plane, I wasn't sure where from, and I didn't ask, as long as it was a legit loan that couldn't come back to me I didn't care. As the evening wore on I was becoming anxious, at 0100 a message came through from Kade.

"Have package, expect delivery by airmail"

48 hours gone and now only 24 hours to go.

Chapter 16

We were stood leaning against the black SUV looking at the plane in front of us.

"You trust Santos in that Hermano?"

"They always say a pilot doesn't want to die today, so yes, I've been in worse"

"Where the hell did he get it from?"

"Don't know, so don't ask him"

"Lester what is it anyway?"

"A Beech Queen Air B80, I picked this because it has a longer flight distance, 1050 nautical miles and seats 6, she's cool"

"She's a shitty color, is that rust?"

"You know Santos it reminds me of the cars Steph drives, I hope we have better luck than she does"

"Nah, it's been made to look like this"

"Why would, no forget I asked"

Now I really didn't want to know, but working it out in my head I knew we would have to land to re fuel.

"Santos where're we picking up fuel?"

" Jardines del Rey Airport, Cayo Romano. Just west of mainland Cuba" "Shit I hoped we don't get spotted for drug running in that thing" Juan laughed and got in the SUV flashing his lights as he left. I passed our luggage to Santos and belted myself in. "Chutes?" "Yes, I made sure we had some, with your track record, they're in the back under the seats" I turned around to look and was quite surprised at how luxurious the interior was, a single leather seat on each side with an aisle down the middle and even carpet on the floor. The strip we were flying from was rough and short but Santos is a very good pilot and we were in the air quickly. We were flying low under the radar, so to say, Santos had logged in a flight plan, but it was one that could be used within a specified time period, an unusual practice I'd not heard of before! The flight was smooth and only took a couple of hours, refueling went without a hitch, I was carrying a large amount of cash, so no questions were asked or records made, no flight plan seemed to be asked for either, so it wasn't long until we were eventually back in the air. Santos wanted to conserve fuel and dropped the air speed down so we took longer than I expected. As we skirted around the island of St Vincents, I turned on the radio and tuned into the frequency Kade told us to use, after about fifteen minutes we started hear a response. Instructions of how to approach, air speed and length of the airstrip were all responded to by Santos, as he skillfully brought us in to land. I was impressed at how smooth the surface was and saw the response of a jeep as we turned toward a hanger that was dug into the hillside. Opening the door I was lifted off my feet by the man himself. Had he aged, maybe, but he looked more relaxed and that showed in his features, he'd grown his hair and now he looked more like a beach bum, with highlights in his blond hair, tanned skin still kept toned. "Kade you look like a beach bum in your cut offs and sandals" "Manoso you look like a mercenary in your black cargos and cats" It was true, we did look like opposites. "Come on get your things in the jeep, we need to catch up first before I let you see our beautiful visitor" I looked at him and immediately felt that he had bad news. "I'll talk as soon as we arrive at the house" The road was one car width and seemed to wind around the bases of the hills, until we came out into a bay, here he parked in an area shaded by a large wooden roof with open sides and climbed out. "You want Santos with us?" "To start with, yes" I didn't take notice of where we were going but was glad when we eventually sat on a terrace of the larger house. A woman came out with a tray with beer and glasses. "Ranger this is Angel, my baby sister, she's been taking care of Stephanie, so I'll let her explain Stephanie's condition. Everything went like clockwork, exactly as planned. The FBI is in an absolute dilemma and stories are like old women gossiping. Basically the official story inside the FBI is that she died, but they lost the body. Lots of blame all round and there are some agents really pissed off. So bringing her here was real easy, Angel you want to explain your side?" "OK Steph had been bleeding internally for too long before anyone did something about it, so she'd lost so much blood she was very close to organ failure. She had a tear in her right kidney which judging from the bruise on her back was from something punching her. Was she wearing Kevlar?" "Yes a friend had sent me a prototype for her, because he knew how often she got into difficult situations, it looked like a leather jacket"

"Then I would say it was a bullet that hit her, quite close range then, judging from the bruising on her back. So the surgeon did a good repair with keyhole, didn't want to do invasive surgery because of her condition. They gave pints of blood, fluids and all sorts of drugs and one to keep her sedated to give her body chance to recuperate. The bleeding was stopped, but I've got her on IV fluids and I'm monitoring her vitals, which are still too low"

Now I knew she was going to give me bad news.
"But?"

"She's still unconscious and she shouldn't be, I've run out of ideas other than time"

"I need to be with her Angel, and I can't explain why, but I know it will help"

"I totally agree with you, she's been through so much both physically and mentally she needs someone she knows, come on I'll take you"

"Santos if you don't mind I need to be with my Babe on my own"

Santos nodded and I followed Angel through a lounge area, along an outdoor walkway into a separate cottage. From the entrance we went through a lounge to a door that Angel opened then closed behind me. There was my Babe, so pale and so still laid on her back with her hair loose across the pillow, there was the sound of a heart monitor and an automatic pressure cuff. She had an IV in her right hand, leading from a stand with two fluid bags dripping through. I stood and watched her chest rise and fall slowly before I moved to her left side away from equipment. Laying next to her with my face in her hair and my hand with hers in mine I started to talk to my Babe. I must have spent two hours talking, varying between Spanish and English, stroking her face and placing kisses on her skin. I told her how much I loved her and that I couldn't exist without her, that she was my light, my angel in a dark world. I kept telling her how sorry I was that I didn't protect her or keep her safe. I think at this point I realized that she was in fact safer when we were together than apart, I'd always told myself that by making her mine I'd bring a world of hurt into her life from my past, but in reality she had brought as much chaos as I did. The day had changed to evening when Angel came in; turning on a background light she looked to me.

"Go take a shower and freshen up, your bags are just outside in the lounge, then eat and come back to sleep next to her. Her vitals have already improved since you've been here, I'll stay with her till you're ready"

I felt relieved that Angel thought there might be some improvement, so did as she suggested. I'd brought some Bulgari because I know Steph loves the smell, I'd also packed some of my T-shirts for her. Refreshed and changed, I ate some fruit and drank some water before returning to the bedroom. Angel had switched on a dim light on the other side of the room; I opened the patio doors to let in the sound of the ocean and a gentle breeze. Angel frowned at me, obviously questioning what I was doing.

"She loves the sea and feels safe and grounded with the sound and the smell of the ocean"

"Good idea then, call 4 on the phone if you need me"

I returned to my position by her side and rested my head next to hers, holding her hand in mine. I spent a short time talking and touching before I succumbed to sleep.