Thank you for all the nice reviews during this story. They were mostly surprisingly positive and very supportive and I give credit to all of you who are fans of my writing and understand a little about how my mind works where writing is concerned anyway. I appreciate every single reader and every single review, good or bad and I listen. Love you guys!

Okay, so the original ending was tough and I didn't want you guys to wait long. So here begins the twist.

Chapter 6

"Noooo!" He woke in a cold sweat. He was delirious and dreaming that horrible nightmare again. This time the dream was different. This time the dream had an ending, a terrifying ending. He knew his time was almost up and if this dream was an omen, possibly hers too. He had lost track of his captivity at day twenty eight after he had been beaten to within an inch of his life. Now they were just playing with him and waiting to dump his body in the jungle. He thought of the dreams again and Stephanie and growled. I'm not dead yet he thought.

This place was like a dark dungeon. He had a fever and he was cold and sweating at the same time. He began feeling around on the old dilapidated concrete floor groaning at the pain in his broken fingers. It was almost pitch black. He was looking for anything sharp. Finally, not far from him on one side he found a stone that felt fairly sharp on one end. He began digging where the chain was attached to the wall. Every time the he got tired or the pain got unbearable he thought about the end of that nightmare.

Hours later he finally got one side loose and pulled the chain from the wall. He rested and then began working the other side and it was harder because the fingers were in even worse shape using this other hand. Yet, he only stopped for short breaks. He worked with the determination of a man that had made a life or death promise to someone he held dear to him. His love for her was the only thing that could save them both now.

Finally, he was free. He was tired and weak and panting. He rested his head against the cold wall and closed his eyes. The guard hadn't been in for a long time. He had to show soon. What must have been a couple of hours later he heard footsteps and then a key in the door. He gathered his strength and stood up and limped to the door and waited next to it. When the guard stepped through, the chain wrapped around his neck and was pulled tight before he could yell for help. Through the pain he pictured her body laying over the grave at the end of the dream and he pushed the pain back and drew every ounce of energy from within him and pulled and squeezed the chain as tight as he could. Within two minutes the guard was still.

The dead man was undressed and dragged up against the back wall. As he changed into the dead man's clothes he thought about his next move. He needed to find a way to make contact and find a way out. He picked up the guard's gun and took his keys and locked the cell door. When he turned, the light blinded him and he had to wait a minute to move until his eyes adjusted. He crouched and tiptoed down the hallway toward a door and looked through the square opening at the top. There was no one in the next chamber.

He walked through and up a set of stairs and stayed against the wall. He heard voices further down the hall and could see out a window that it was dark outside. He walked in a side room and looked in. Bingo! A phone. He closed the door and quickly dialed a number and waited for the connection. Then quickly gave the codes for his near failed mission, air strike and immediate extraction. "Urgent Fury-Op Vortex. Swiftlift required. Romeo-Golf-Romeo. Confirm?" A voice came back, "Affirmative, tracing now."

He laid the phone down so the call could be traced and stepped out of the door and took a few steps and looked down a side hall and there was an outside door. So far so good. Now, if he could just get out and slip away before the guards knew he had escaped. He was growing weaker and moving on pure adrenalin and fear. Fear for his Babe. If he was spotted and ambushed he wouldn't have much of a chance to fight and live to make it out of here. He had a gun, yet his mangled hands would be almost useless in a firefight. He tried the door and it creaked. Just then he heard laughter and pushed the door open the the rest of way and slipped out hoping that the sound hadn't drawn attention.

He was now outside. He crouched and looked around. There was a fence around the compound. There was a guard tower near the entrance and gate. He headed in the opposite direction of the tower to the fence and walked it until he found a hole near the bottom in one place and crawled through and sighed with relief as he came out the other side and stood. Then he headed through the jungle following the fence around back toward the road and slipped away.

He shuffled through the jungle parallel to the main road until he heard a plane and then several explosions behind him. His energy had been ebbing and the pain from his injuries was excruciating, but the adrenalin had kept him moving. He was going to make it. He had to. He was too close to fail now. He saw lights in the sky and headed toward the road as they became closer and he knew that they were the lights of a helicopter. He began waving as the helo got closer. Suddenly the lights were directly overhead and he gave the hand signal that would tell them that he was their man.

The helicopter landed and two armed men jumped out and ran to him. "Major Manoso, Sir?"

"Affirmative."

"You need an assist, sir."

"That's definitely an affirmative. Damned glad to see you." They took his arms and helped him on to the helo and the one closest to the door signaled to the pilot to lift off.

A medic leaned over him and began working as he closed his eyes. His last thought before blackness was, Hang on Babe. I'm on my way home.

Two surgeries, a long debriefing and two weeks later I was finally headed home to Trenton. I had been in contact with Tank and he had assured me during the debriefing that Stephanie had been safe and secure at Rangeman. Tank had confirmed the sordid details of what I already knew of the abuse Stephanie had suffered at Morelli's hands. Stephanie was still hurt and in shock from that ordeal and we had agreed it best that I return and see her in person first, before dealing with any new issues that might come from an additional shock.

After picking me up at the airport, we spoke briefly about general issues and then the rest of the drive back to Rangeman was spent in an eerie silence. As Tank parked in the garage I asked, "Where is she?"

"Lester's apartment." A shiver ran down my spine.

I took the elevator to level four and walked up to the door. It suddenly opened and Lester looked at me with shock on his face.

"What the fuck?"

"Where is Stephanie?"

"She's not here."

"There's a fucking tombstone with your name on it. Do you have any idea what she's been through? What all of us have been through?"

"Yeah man, I do know and I need to find her.

"What do you mean she's not here?"

"I was just going to look for her. Most of her stuff is gone."

"She's in serious trouble if Morelli gets his hands on her."

"No shit! It started with your funeral!"

"I know. I need you to drive me. We have to find her." He just growled in frustration and nodded and we headed to the control room to ask questions and check the video footage to find out when exactly she had left the building.

Stephanie had left with a bag and Rex the day before. Her departure had been quiet and only one camera had picked her up. She had asked one of the new men for a ride to Wilbur Street. There were several businesses in the area where she was dropped off and one was a bank. We walked in and I spoke to the manager. He at first didn't want to give us any information on Stephanie. When I growled and told him that all I wanted to know is if there was any unusual activity on the account he sighed and told us that the account was emptied and closed.

We walked out and I looked down the street trying to think how her mind might be working. There was a used car lot down the street. We headed there. I asked for the manager and asked if she had been there and he said that she had and she had purchased a blue 1998 VW Beetle.

I called her parents house and her Grandmother answered. "Mrs. Mazur, have you heard from Stephanie?"

"Who is this?"

"Ranger Manoso."

"You playin' some kind of sick joke on me, son? Because if you are, it's not very funny."

"No ma'am. I'm very much alive and I need to find Steph. Has she called you?"

"She called to say that she was going away not long ago. You know that Morelli boy hurt her. I offered some of my savings and my blessing to get out of this damn Burg and away from her mother."

"Any idea at all where she was headed?"

"She's looking for a new home, son. She's not in a good place right now."

"Where do you think she went?"

"She loves the ocean. Might have stopped there. She always loved Point Pleasant as a child."

"Thanks You. I'm going to find her."

"Wait just a minute young fella!"

"Yes ma'am?"

"What are your intentions?"

"Mrs. Mazur, I love her and I want to help her."

"Then you find her and you make that little Italian son-of-a-goombah's patoot pay. You hear?"

"Oh, I intend to ma'am." I disconnected.

We drove to Point Pleasant and Lester stopped and let me out. He stepped out of the SUV and looked at me and said, "I'm warning you now. I don't know how she's going to handle seeing you. I talked to Bobby this morning and she's seriously fragile right now and I'm not just talking about her body." I nodded and he pulled the truck away headed to check the motels down the beach. I knew if she was here I would feel her. I walked to the boardwalk area and went to the middle of the walkway and looked around and I closed my eyes hoping I could somehow connect with her like in the dreams.

Stephanie, please…Where are you? You brought me home and now I need to do the same for you. He felt a tingle and his eyes turned as he saw a flash of something floating in the water. He ran down the beach and into the waves yelling her name and splashing and grabbing and felt nothing in the water. The morbid words, 'the sea rarely gives up its dead' rang cold in his ears and body. Would she take her own life?

He knew she had been here. He had felt her for just a few moments. He growled in frustration and with his head down he turned and headed to the beach in anguish and sat heavily in the sand and looked out over the waves. "Babe, I'm so sorry. I hurt you and I let you down. I wasn't here for you when you needed me."

He felt a cool breeze blow through his hair and a sudden tingling again and his heart fluttered. "Ranger?" He turned and looked up. If it was an apparition it was the most beautiful one that he had ever seen. Her curls were flying around her face in the light breeze and her blue eyes were shining with surprise and also sadness. She was smaller and her shirt and shorts were hanging loosely on her body. But, to him she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

"Babe."

"You said goodbye. I thought you went to the light."

"Stephanie, you're the light. I'm here because of you."

Tears began falling down her face and she smiled at me. "I miss you so much."

She stood still as a statue as I walked to her. Then I took her in my arms and pulled her to me.

She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. "You feel so real and you're even wet from the salt water."

"I am real. Flesh and blood. I didn't die."

"But…Oh I'm dreaming again."

"No, Steph. My mission went bad. My death was faked. I'm so sorry." Her face changed from sad to horrified and she stepped back out of my embrace and put her hands over her mouth.

"Oh no…The things that have happened. I'm not the same, Ranger. I'm damaged. You won't like me very much now." She turned to run and I caught her.

"Babe, I already know what you did and I forgive you."

"They told you everything?"

"No. I saw it. I'm glad they were able to give you comfort."

"They did help me."

"We all can work through the addiction problem and the other issues. My men love you."

"Other issues. You mean Morelli?"

"Yes and with you sleeping with my men..."

"What?"

"You weren't in your right mind. We can get you into a treatment program for the addiction."

"I didn't sleep with your men. How could you say such a thing?" She had tears in her eyes and turned away and began walking.

"Babe, wait..."

She turned to me and smiled as tears fell down her cheeks. "I'm glad you're home and safe, Ranger. I really am. Everything is different now though and I need to be on my own for a while. I need to learn to be stronger, mentally and physically. Tell the guys thank you for rescuing me and helping me.

TBC-

So? Comments?