Thank you so very much for your reviews. You guys made my day. As I am a total review slut, please keep them coming…
Disclaimer: Teddy is mine, but just because he won't go away. Everything else belongs to JE
A special thanks to Stayce for the inspiration, the editing, the brainstorming, the ideas…
Rating: I give it an R to be on the safe side...some violence
Living on a Prayer Chapter 21I watched a show on out-of-body experiences on TV once, mostly reported by people describing how they saw their near-death happen. Ever since Joe had been shot, I'd been experiencing my own out-of-body sensations, although I was not near death.
To me, it always felt like I was watching TV, I had no control over my body or my mind. And that's how I felt now.
I heard the shot and thought I froze in panic. The next thing I knew though, I was on the street, running towards Valerie's house. I had no memory of getting out of the car, or of drawing my gun, yet here I was, the gun in my hand as I was crossing the street and sprinting past the FedEx truck.
And everything around me felt…I don't know, surreal. Like a dream that you know is a dream, you just sit back and watch. There was no sound except my own rapid heartbeat.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hector, Manuel's backup; he had been crouching by the truck. He moved to block my way, but I had such momentum that he literally bounced off of me and backwards.
I'm sure this all happened in a matter of seconds, but it was running in slow motion for me. I heard Ranger behind me, or maybe I just felt him, probably he was only steps behind me, trying to stop me just like Hector had.
I was powered by anger and adrenaline, and I was acting on instinct, not on reason. My only thoughts were Valerie and Lisa.
Probably I should have stopped, assess the situation, and then think of the best way to proceed. I didn't do any of that. I ran ahead, my gun still raised. Manuel was doubled over, holding his midsection, I only saw him in my peripheral vision because I was staring straight ahead, where Valerie stood in the doorway. For a split-second, I only saw her. Her eyes were wide, emphasized by the smudged mascara around them. Her white-and-yellow housedress had tears in it, and she was barefoot. She had her mouth open as if she was going to scream.
'She's alive!' a voice screamed in my head. I was so focused on my sister, that I saw Teddy second. His arm was around Valerie's throat, his gun was pressing against her temple, and he was using her as a shield, his body was partially hidden behind her.
"Stephanie, don't!" Ranger yelled behind me. He knew what I was going to do before I did. I knew I wasn't a good shot by any stretch of the imagination. That alone should have stopped me from shooting in this situation. My gun was aimed at Teddy, but he was jerking Valerie back, so there was no way for me to shoot him without hitting and maybe even killing Valerie. In my mind, I fired the perfect shot, missing my sister by a fraction of an inch and hitting Teddy in the head. But at the last second, Sane Stephanie took control of my body and I didn't pull the trigger. Instead I never broke stride and slammed right into the two of them like Freight Train Stephanie.
I had the element of surprise when I hit Valerie first, and she stumbled back into Teddy. Teddy was still injured and had no way of holding his ground so they both fell back, hitting the floor with a thud, some screaming, and me on top.
Immediately, I was yanked off by a set of strong arms, and I barely had a chance to see Valerie being lifted up as well before I was shoved to the side. I heard the clicking of guns being cocked, then Bobby's "Don't move a muscle!"
I struggled against the strong hold when I was pinned against a wall in the foyer. And finally, I re-joined my body. It was as if I had been watching an action movie in slow motion, no sound, and then someone hit the play button again, full sound and real time action resumed.
I finally recognized the body shielding me as Ranger's. "Don't move," He said, his head next to mine, "I'm done taking chances." He didn't move until Hector and Bobby had gotten Teddy off the ground, cuffed and shackled. Teddy didn't say a word. Ranger was pinning me against the wall with his body, while his left hand held my wrist. I realized I was still holding the gun.
I could hear Valerie wail and then there were sounds of a struggle. "Please Mrs. Kloughn," a Merry Man said, "Stay still until we clear the area." Probably Val was beyond scared, unable to realize it was over.
"Let me go," I said through clenched teeth and tried to push Ranger away, "I need to be with Val!" Ranger pulled back enough to give me room to breathe, but I still couldn't move. He lifted his head to look at me. "Please, Stephanie," He said, "Stay still, just another minute." I craned my neck to look over his shoulder.
Bobby was holding on to Teddy's elbow, Hector was standing a few feet to the side, his gun on Teddy. Tank stepped into the doorway, assessed the situation with one look, drew his gun and made room for Bobby to escort Teddy out.
And then my eyes met Teddy's. He turned his head to make eye contact and I saw the craziness. That's the only way I can describe it. His eyes didn't look human; he'd definitely gone off the deep end. And I could tell he hadn't given up yet. I knew he never would, unless I stopped him.
There was nobody he was able to use as a shield now; I'd have a clear shot. As soon as I moved my hand though, Ranger's grip tightened on my wrist and I lost control of my fingers. My gun dropped to the floor, and the moment was over when Hector shoved his gun into Teddy's back and he stumbled out. I heard Teddy yelp in surprise, probably Hector had 'accidentally' shoved him too hard so he fell down the front steps. I heard sirens approaching, getting closer by the second.
Valerie managed to struggle free or, more likely, the Merry Man in charge of her had released her. She ran right past me, up the stairs. "Lisa, Mommy's here," She yelled. Ranger finally took a step back so I was able to follow her.
I stumbled up the stairs after Valerie and followed her into Lisa's room. Valerie and Albert had three bedrooms, just like my parents. Angie and Mary Alice were sharing a bedroom, and the third and smallest one had been made into a nursery for the baby. I stepped into the bright yellow room and it felt like a different world. Up here, there were no killers, there were only baby toys and mobiles. Valerie was holding Lisa in the middle of the room, and she was sobbing.
"Val, are you okay?" I asked, unable to keep my voice from shaking.
"I'm f…fi…fine…" She hiccupped, not having much luck controlling her voice either. Baby Lisa started crying, she couldn't understand why her mom was clutching her to the chest while sobbing into her hair.
"Val, it's over," I said, touching her arm to reassure her and loosen her grip on Lisa, "The baby needs to be able to breathe…"
"Who was he?" Valerie wailed, rocking Lisa to calm her down, "How do you know him, what does he want?" When she lifted her head, I could see the bruise that was blooming on her left cheek, and I had the silly realization that we were bruise twins. I shook my head to clear it; I could not afford to go off into denial land just yet. I took Baby Lisa from Valerie gently.
"It's a long story…" I said, hoping she wouldn't push me for more information, "Are you hurt? You should get checked out by a paramedic." I was sure the control room had called for ambulances.
Valerie shook her head, but ran her fingers over the bruise. She had stopped crying and her breathing slowly returned to normal. She sank into the rocking chair and looked completely shell-shocked. Probably she'd have a panic attack when the numbness wore off.
When I held the baby, I finally let myself believe it was over; my sister and my niece were safe. Lisa was calming down too and started playing with my hair. I smiled at her and rubbed her belly.
"He said he'd kill us if you didn't show," Valerie whispered, wringing her hands in her lap, "I didn't want to call you, but he threatened to hurt the baby…"
"You did the right thing," I assured her, "You couldn't have done this on your own. I've been looking for him and if it wasn't for you, I would have never found him." I put the baby back into her crib, walked over to Valerie and hugged her.
"It's over," I said again, "You're safe. I'll stay with the baby while you get checked out." Valerie nodded but didn't move. I took her hands, pulled her up slowly and nudged her towards the door. "I'm here, Val. You need to make sure you're okay," I said.
I heard footsteps and moments later, Tank appeared in the doorframe. "Tank will take you to the paramedic," I said, pushing Valerie towards him. I met Tank's eyes and he almost-nodded as he took Val's arm.
When I was sure they couldn't hear me, I took a deep breath, blew it out with a whoosh and leaned on Lisa's crib, watching her. "I'm sorry," I told her, tears welling up in my eyes at the thought of what could have happened, "I didn't mean to put you in danger like that." I reached out and touched her hand. "You're gonna be okay," I promised, "Mommy's fine. And Aunt Steph is here now."
She smiled at me as she gurgled. Probably she was going to be hungry real soon, but I didn't dare taking her downstairs yet, not until everything was back to normal. I didn't want to excite Valerie again, so I hadn't asked her if Lisa had been upstairs the whole time, but there didn't seem to be a scratch on her. Her big blue eyes were wide open, studying my face. I had to bite back a sob. I would have never forgiven myself if anything had happened to her.
"You okay, Babe?" I jumped at the sound of Ranger's voice and turned around. He had taken his vest off and was just in his cargo pants and t-shirt. "Sorry," He whispered and closed the distance between us. He looked at Baby Lisa and smiled. "She's okay," I said. He nodded, touched Lisa's head and pulled the blanket over her. Then he took my hand and looked up. "Are you okay?" He asked, pulling me closer. I leaned into him and took a deep breath. It was a loaded question. Was I okay? Honestly, I thought I was a couple county lines over from okay, but I was fine physically. I chose to believe that's what Ranger had meant. "I didn't hit the ground when I shoved into them," I said, my head resting against his chest. "Is Manuel okay?" I asked. "Gardner got a shot off, it hit Manuel. He was wearing his Kevlar vest, but at this short distance, he's gonna have a pretty bad bruise," Ranger said and stroked my hair, "But he's gonna be fine."
We stood like that for a couple minutes until Lisa gurgled again and I turned to check on her. She was just entertaining herself. Ranger put his hand on my shoulder and turned me back to face him. "Don't ever do anything like that again," He said, his eyes boring into mine. "Do what?" I asked confused.
He pulled me into a hug. "You scared the shit out of me back there," He said softly, his mouth so close to my ear that I could feel his breath on my skin. "I swear, I've never seen you move so fast. One moment you were in the car next to me, the next, you were flying." He squeezed me tighter and I felt his heart beat.
"I heard the gunshot," I said by way of explanation. Ranger's chest moved as he chuckled silently. "I thought you didn't do scared," I said, lifting my head to look up at him. I wanted to lighten the mood before I'd get a chance to think more about what could have happened to me, Val, or anyone involved.
He lifted his hand and traced my chin. "I'm never scared for me," He said softly, "I was scared for you. If anything happened to you…" He didn't finish that sentence, he just lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me. It was a short, powerful kiss without tongue; as if he was assuring himself I was still there. Ranger broke the kiss and tightened his arms around me, his chin on my head.
I didn't know what to say. Too many emotions were raging in my brain. I needed to make sure Teddy was locked up and someone threw away the key. I should have shot him when I had the chance. Probably the cops had him now, it would be hard for me to get to him and watch him die.
"Where's Teddy?" I asked when I found my voice, my head still against Ranger's chest. "Taken care of," Ranger said. "Dead?" I hadn't given up hope he'd had an accident on his way out of the house.
"In jail," Ranger said. Damn. I sighed. Ranger let his arms slide off my back and put them on my shoulders, gently pushing me back so he could look at me.
"It's over, that's what matters," He said, and for the first time since I'd known him, he sounded like he was trying to convince himself as much as me. I nodded weakly. "I'm glad you couldn't do it," he said softly and tucked my hair behind my ear. "I'm not," I replied, "He's going to jail and he's gonna get a scumbag attorney and plead insanity." I pulled away from Ranger and started pacing. "Then he's gonna say he had no control over what he was doing and his parents neglected him or whatever and he's gonna walk." I was talking myself into a rage. I was angry at myself because I had missed my last chance.
"You don't know that," Ranger said, his voice calm. "The hell I don't!" I yelled, "And it's all your fault! Why did you stop me? I had a clear shot, I could've taken him out!" I didn't care that I was being unfair, I needed to yell. I needed to find someone responsible for my failure.
Baby Lisa apparently didn't like the yelling, she started fussing. Ranger looked at her, then he looked at me and shook his head. "Babe," he said and left. I huffed and let my arms fall to my sides. Dammit, he was impossible to fight with.
I picked Lisa up and calmed her down, wondering what took Val so long. Lisa was probably hungry and I had no idea what she ate these days. And I was getting antsy to get back downstairs, check that everyone was okay, make my statement and then hopefully get a donut.
I could still hear voices from downstairs, so I put Lisa back into her crib, made sure she was all right, and left her room. Strobe lights were painting the upstairs hallway in red and blue, and I looked through the window to find out just how many emergency troops there were. Before the shot was fired, there was a blue-and-white and the Crown Vic. Now there were two cruisers, two ambulances, a police van and two Rangeman SUV's parked in front of the house and across the street. Two uniforms were keeping spectators at bay.
When I got downstairs, Valerie was talking to Detective Thomalla. I recognized him from the station; Joe and he had shared an office sometimes. He was in his mid-thirties, with thin brown hair and calm blue eyes. He and Joe had sometimes gone out for a drink after their shift, and they had been partners on Joe's last case.
"Hey Frank," I greeted him when I got to the bottom of the stairs. "Stephanie, how are you?" He said, "Give me a minute, I'll be right with you, okay?" He turned back to Valerie and continued his questioning. Carl Costanza stood in the front door, making sure nobody unauthorized went in. He waved when he saw me and I smiled back. I knew my mom's phone was ringing off the hook, by now everyone would have told her what was going on. I was surprised she wasn't here yet. Tank was in the living room, being questioned by another detective. The scene was the standard aftermath of a crime scene, although the perp was in custody, witnesses had to be interviewed, evidence had to be collected. I had seen more than my share of crime scenes. The only one missing this time was Joe. Tank seemed to be the only RangeMan still inside.
"Carl Costanza, let me through this instant," I heard my mother yell from outside. Carl should know better than to block her way, I thought. I sat down on the overstuffed, flower-patterned couch, closed my eyes and hugged my knees to my chest. With any luck, Mom would focus on Val and the baby, and wouldn't try to find me. I heard her voice from much closer, and figured she had found a way past Costanza. I could hear her talk to Val, but I didn't hear what they were saying. Then there were footsteps on the stairs, and I sighed in relief. She was going to take care of the baby.
I listened to Tank giving his statement, describing what had happened. Since the cops had been notified in advance, they were probably checking if everyone's story matched.
The couch cushion dipped beside me and I opened my eyes to find Frank Thomalla sitting next to me. "How are you, Stephanie?" He asked again, his eyes all sympathetic and his forehead creased in a frown. I shrugged, "Okay, I guess." He nodded at that and took out his notepad. "I understand you know the suspect?" I nodded. "And he's the same guy that attacked RangeMan employees the night before last?" God, had it really only been a couple days? It seemed like weeks to me. When I nodded again, Frank made some notes. "Did you see him attack those men?" He looked up with his eyebrows raised. I sighed. "No, but the victims themselves saw him, if you ask them, they will confirm." I might have sounded a little irritated, because his frown lines got deeper. "Stephanie," He said, "I know this is hard for you. I'll try to be quick, I promise." And he put his hand on my knee. I'm sure he meant to be comforting, but the gesture was a little too intimate for me, I hardly knew the guy.
"He killed Joe," I said in an effort to speed the interview up. His hand tightened on my knee. "How do you know?" He asked. "He told me."
Frank scooted closer and now he was really making me uncomfortable. "Do you have any evidence besides hearsay?" He asked, his voice a lot lower than before. I shrunk back against the couch to get some distance between us. "I have his phone calls on tape," I said, "and he kidnapped me! What more evidence do you need?"
He finally lifted his hand off my knee and put his notepad away. "Morelli was on his way to meet an informant," He said, still in a hushed voice, as if he was sharing classified information, "We believe that whoever shot him may be the break we desperately need in this case."
"I don't know anything about the case. All I know is your suspect killed Joe, assaulted three men, kidnapped me and held my sister and her daughter hostage. Isn't that enough?"
Tank looked over to us, obviously I had gotten louder than I realized. He raised an eyebrow in a silent question, his arms crossed over his massive chest. Thomalla took a look at Tank, cleared his throat and reached into his jacket.
"Here's my card, Stephanie," He said, handing me his business card, "I can see this isn't a good time for you. Please call me if you think of anything else, okay?" I took his card and he got up. I sent Tank a grateful look and he nodded almost imperceptibly before turning his attention back to the detective. Thomalla leaned down to whisper "And if you ever need anything, anything, you know how to reach me." And then he ran his fingers over my cheek and left. I shuddered involuntarily and made a mental note to check him out. He had gotten a little too friendly too fast.
Slowly, everyone cleared out. The cops left first, followed by the EMT's and the Merry Men. I hadn't seen Ranger since he left Lisa's bedroom. Tank offered me a ride back to the office, but I declined, telling him I wanted to stay with my sister. Albert had called while the paramedics were still checking Valerie; he left a message saying he had to go out of town to meet a client and would be home late. I might have stayed with Val anyway, but this gave me the perfect excuse to get a break from the RangeMan cage I had been living in.
Tank looked uncomfortable when I told him, probably thinking of ways to tell Ranger, but he didn't say anything.
My mom found me after she had fed Lisa and put her in the playpen in the living room. She shot me a look that made me hope I wouldn't be alone with her anytime soon.
Valerie had gone upstairs to take a shower, and when she sat down next to me on the couch, she looked a lot better.
"How are you feeling?" I asked. "I'm okay. Thank you for staying. The girls are at Mom's house with Grandma Mazur and Dad, Mom said it was okay for them to stay. It will be just you and me and the baby. We can have a girls' night." Valerie was rambling, she was not okay, I decided. But then I hadn't expected her to just shrug it off. I was a lot more used to chaos in my life and I was still shaking inside. I put my arm around her and pulled her close. Lisa was in her playpen, fed and happy, entertaining herself. Mom was puttering around, straightening the place up. I was pretty sure she'd find something to iron next. It was hard to believe how much had changed in a few hours. Teddy was caught. My family was safe. Somehow, I didn't trust the sudden peace.
"I have lunch ready in the kitchen," Mom interrupted my thoughts, "You girls need to eat." In my family, we expressed our love for each other through food. Mom making lunch was like a hug and a kiss on the forehead. And now that the adrenaline rush was over, I was starving.
My mom left after lunch because she didn't want to leave my father alone with my grandmother and the kids for too long. Probably she didn't want to upset Val again, so she had spared me the lecture for now.
Val and I played with Baby Lisa for a while, then we watched TV and made small talk. We were both going with avoidance at this point. I had turned my cell phone off and it was now along with my utility belt and my Kevlar vest in the kitchen. This was down time.
I got up to go to the bathroom and when I looked through the window in the front door, I spotted a RangeMan SUV parked right out front. I should have known.
I straightened my shoulders and opened the door. I couldn't see who was inside the SUV through its tinted windows, so I walked the short distance and tapped on the passenger side window. It rolled down and Bobby greeted me with a smile. "How're you doin' Steph?"
I fisted my hands in my hips. "Hi," I said, not feeling very friendly, "What are you going here?" I already knew the answer. Bobby's smile never faded. "Keeping you safe," He said. I knew they were only following Ranger's orders, but I couldn't keep the exasperation out of my voice. "I am safe," I said. "They got the guy, remember? It's over. You can leave now."
Cal leaned forward in the driver's seat to see past Bobby. "And risk getting shot because something happened to you? No offense, but I'd rather stay here and get yelled at by you," He said. I sighed. "Fine." I marched myself back into the house to call Ranger.
"Yo," He answered. Some things never change. "Yo yourself," I said, "You forgot something outside my sister's house."
"Babe,"
"It's over Ranger, I'm perfectly safe by myself now," I argued. I could feel him shake his head over the phone. "They're just there to keep you safe from yourself," Ranger said.
"You want to explain that to me?"
"Gardner is in jail, let's leave it at that," Ranger said. "I don't know what you're talking about," I said. It was a lie, I knew exactly what he was hinting at. And it irritated me that he'd thought of it before I had.
"You're not gonna call them off?" I asked.
"Not until I know you won't do anything stupid."
"I'm not gonna do anything stupid." He laughed out loud and disconnected. I glared at the phone in my hand. Ranger knew me too well. The thought that Teddy had gotten away gnawed at me. If he pleaded insanity or if they couldn't find enough evidence, he would never have to pay for what he'd done. I was the only person who could make sure he did. I owed Morelli that much.
And what if they had taken him back to a hospital, possibly even St Francis where he knew everybody? He could escape again and this would never end! Why was I the only one who was thinking straight?
I had made up my mind. As soon as Albert got home, I would leave. I had outsmarted the Merry Men before, I could do it again.
Kloughn got back around six, after Val and I had watched enough mindless TV to last us a lifetime. His appointment hadn't lasted as long as he had expected, and he was anxious to share the news about a new client. I had instructed Val to break the news to Albert slowly, I doubted he could take it all at once, but I left it to her to explain. He asked about the girls first, and Val took a deep breath before she asked him to sit down before she explained. Now that Albert was home, there was no need for me to stay. Even if he somehow escaped, I doubted Teddy would go after Valerie again. Besides, she had protection sitting right outside.
I went into the kitchen, put on my vest and my belt and took a couple cookies from the jar to get my sugar fix. Then I called Carl Costanza for an update. He told me that Teddy had been patched up at St Francis, but he'd then been taken to his cell. His arraignment would be in the morning. Carl doubted that Teddy would get a judge to set bail, but I didn't want to risk it. I pretended to be all relieved at the news, thanked Carl after assuring him I was fine and disconnected.
Just as I had expected, Albert had a shocked look on his face when I returned to the living room. Valerie was sitting next to him with her arms around him, assuring him that everybody was fine.
"I'm gonna leave now," I announced, "One of Ranger's men will give me a ride home. You're gonna be okay, right Val?"
Valerie looked up and nodded, "Yes, we're gonna be fine. Thanks for staying." I was glad she was overlooking the fact that none of it would have happened if it wasn't for me. I had allowed Teddy to hurt my family. I managed to push that thought away before I'd wallow in self-pity and waved goodbye. Albert was too dazed to notice, but I knew Valerie would be able to calm him down eventually.
I opened the front door and closed it again noisily, then I snuck through the kitchen and left through the back door. I stood on top of the steps for a moment to allow my eyes to adjust to the darkness. There was a small, fenced backyard that bordered a small alley, just like most streets in the Burg were set up. All I had to do was sneak through a couple back alleys over to Mary Lou's house. I'd borrow her car or ask her to take me to my apartment so I'd have my own. Since I knew just about everyone in the Trenton PD, I knew I could find a way to get some alone time with Teddy.
I tiptoed through the backyard, trying to keep to the shadows and climbed the fence. It was dark back here so I had to watch where I was going, I didn't want to fall and end my trip before it began. I listened into the darkness for any sounds, but all I could hear were cars driving by on Val's street and dinner-making noises from the backs of the other houses. I took a deep breath and planned out my route, then I took off.
I heard the rustle of clothes and froze.
"Going somewhere, Babe?"
TBC
A/N: Do you think Ranger should help Steph get revenge??