Tanks P.O.V

Bomber had been doing so well lately, about five months ago Ranger had left on assignment and Steph decided to take up training. Bobby, Lester and I had drilled her on everything she would need to make her better at her job and five months on she was doing better than any of us had ever predicted.

She could and would regularly run five miles with barely breaking a sweat as well as mastering take downs and hand to hand combat. Her gun was a necessity she could now properly use without hesitation and her eating habits had changed dramatically, gone were the take outs and snack food replaced with healthy alternatives she learnt to cook herself although she still stayed true to cake and doughnuts. And she had an entirely new street rep that had nothing to do with exploding vehicles and Ranger's protection. The best part? She had finally dumped that asshole Morelli when she caught him with Terri Gilman even leaving him with a few bruises and a broken nose.

Ranger had gotten home a month ago and still didn't know anything about Stephanie had changed because she wanted to finish her training and pass a fitness test we had made up at the start of her training before telling him. He was sitting in his office while I did a walk through of the men and Stephanie on deck to make sure they were all working hard and doing well.

I was talking briefly to Hal and Lester on monitors when I heard a cell phone go off and immediately my eyes flicked to Bomber's cubicle where she picked up her cell phone smiling after she looked to the call ID.

Her radiant smile was quickly replaced by a look of devastation before he newly acquired blank mask fell down and she set the cell phone down. We watched her as she stood her entire body screaming with tension then walked silently through the control room floor and to the stairs where we followed her progress to the gym.

I was thankful the gym was empty when she went in as my eyes followed her to the CD player and then over to the punch bag. Without strapping on gloves she started to attack the bag her body obviously tightly coiled as she tried to release some of the obviously intense anger she was feeling.

I nodded to the men and headed down myself ignoring the protocol to alert Ranger of anything strange happening with Stephanie. Stepping into the gym I let the door click behind me although it was drowned out by the heavy rock that was pounding and ripping through the gym. Scrambling the camera's I moved across the room leaning on the wall watching Stephanie prepared but not wanting to disturb her just yet.

After what seemed like hours but my watch told me was only twenty minutes she hadn't stopped her furious pace but her punches and kicks were getting sloppy and less even I pushed myself off the wall and towards the CD player shutting it off.

The silence seemed to scream through the room with almost as much impact as the heavy rock had a moment ago. Stephanie stopped and turned towards me her blank mask firmly in place but her entire frame swamped with the tightly controlled anger.

Without a word we both stepped towards the mats removing our boots and weapons as well as anything else to leave us in just our RangeMan shirts and cargos with empty pockets. Neither of us strapped our hands as we began to circle, she needed to release and I didn't want to do anything to make her impatient.

She attacked first although I had told her to always wait for the attack but I was ready and set into my zone as I felt she had.

Half an hour later she suddenly stopped her breathing heavy, her wrist bloody and her pale complexion begin to blossom a few bruises. None of this registered with me though as I took in her expression the blank mask had fallen and she was standing there looking devastated and angrier than I had ever seen her.

"Who is he?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's not Joe hurt, it's not Ranger pain, it's someone else, someone you love who has hurt you. Who?" If she was shocked by my question and reasoning she didn't show it but then it would have been hard to see a little surprise through the anger in her features.

"His names Charlie." She told me not able to stop the small intimate smile on her face as she said this before the pain blatant and like a knife to my own heart cut through.

"What did he do?" I asked, I never knew of someone called Charlie in her life and since she had moved onto the fourth floor three months ago I would be sure to know of a new man in her life.

"He was my brother." I didn't know she had a brother and the confusion must have shown on my face. "Not by blood but otherwise the best brother you could ever have.

"What did he do?" I repeated before a lengthy pause she finally answered the anger dimmed by the pure anguish in her soul.

"He died." After a while I moved closer pulling her into my arms even as she fought her small hands beating against my chest as I saw the tears finally fall. "He left me! He said he would never leave me! He promised!" Her shouts echoing around the hall while I held on tight. "I'm so angry Tank but he promised. He lied to me."

Her voice was getting softer and tears fell heavier like the dam she had held closed was breaking and all the fight went out of her.

"It's okay to be angry Steph, it's okay to hurt." At my words she slumped forcing us both to the floor as I cradled her in my lap rocking her slightly forcing her to face her pain.

It probably wasn't even two minutes later that her entire body went limp as she fell asleep, the exhaustion of the news, the anger, the hurt, the fight all crept up and dragged her down as she collapsed against me.

I knew she would be alright eventually but as I sat there with the exhausted and distraught girl in my arms I knew deaths anger was the scariest feeling of all.