I decided to try another book-challenge page and use it to follow Ranger and Stephanie on their trip. Thanks MamaJoyce for sharing inspiration for another buddy for Ranger. He, his men, and his mission, live on. All familiar characters are Janet's.

Chapter 2

Ranger's POV

We'd only been packing boxes for ten minutes today before a clap of thunder shook the building I'd rented to add to the economy as well as to store the supplies I had flown in. Hurricane season has already rolled back around ... and we're personally feeling it now.

Knowing people in every corner of the world, all of whom are as fearless as I am, if not more so, comes in handy when you need help without strings or any bureaucratic bullshit. Flying someplace that 'officials' avoid? I'd need to borrow more hands in order to count how many times I've done exactly that. Want to offer civilan aid without attracting attention or weapon fire? If you know the right people, it's only a question of what time they should be ready to take off. And if you need an aircraft larger than a standard jet to carry food, water, medically-trained military personnel, and some comfort items people have been only dreaming about ... you call those who used to make runs with Kurtis Wright.

Kurt was the Marine mastermind behind the catchphrase 'relief knows no fucking borders' ... his words and the basis of the organization he started and continued to head and participate in until he was shot down in Bosnia on run number three as he was bringing food, medicine and those who can correctly dispense it, along with drinking water and portable shelters, to make life a bit more bearable for those who've become living casualties of war. The world may have lost a truly remarkable man, but his legacy and mission has remained alive long after him.

To this day, if the Combat Vets I've met, have served with, or was contacted to help, want something more 'challenging' than a job at Rangeman, I steer them the 'Wright' way. Medics, Corpsmen, Marines, and Soldiers alike, are always needed and will always be appreciated. Life for them didn't end when their service did, it began all over again by fighting wars, and fighting for freedom for the people, in another but no less dangerous capacity.

War, natural disasters, and worldwide poverty, unfortunately haven't slowed down any since we lost Kurt. When he shared what he was hoping to make his life's work for the second phase of it, I'd made a vow to him to do whatever I can to make and keep his dream a reality. His death didn't break that promise. A line item in my company's budget is dedicated to keeping Kurt's Globemasters flying, fully-stocked, and filled with Vets who still have that 'save the world' drive which fuels all of us.

Corrupt governments, genocides, and both manmade and natural disasters, may always be issues that need to be combated, but right behind the mayhem are men like Kurt who are on call 24/7 just waiting for the next dot on the globe to appear where they're needed. If he was alive, he'd be here with us ... not just his cargo plane and a few members of his crew. Like it had been with Kurt, one call was all I needed to place in order to get added supplies and extra muscle to come to Puerto Rico with us, bearing far from empty hands. Hell, this is probably a vacation to them compared to their recent 'visits' to Syria.

"I thought the company guaranteed that the electricity would be on for longer than a day?" Steph said, changing the course of my thoughts as we faced yet another blackout.

She's been holding up well. If a yardstick was put up to her that measures strength or empathy, she'd need an extender for it to fully calculate the amount of care and concern she feels for everyone around us. My men are far from starving, yet she continues to make sure everyone else ... resident, visitor, or Merry Man, has whatever they need before she'll relax and take care of herself. I wouldn't have a problem with that, knowing Ella's propensity towards spoiling others, but Ella can make sure she keeps herself running at 100 percent, whereas Steph will wear herself out trying to ensure no one else is suffering.

"A promise that's made but refuses to be kept, is placating at its worst," I answered.

"No, shit," Bobby added. "Everyone should've had continuous electricity at least three days after Maria hit."

"Or had a swarm of helicopters dropping supplies off daily," Ramon said, "so people could eat and actually live without power if they're being forced to. I wouldn't have believed this if I weren't here looking at it."

"Yeah, back in Jersey you either heard cricket-silence about the island or a prettied-up version of its condition," Woody noted.

That earned him nods of agreement from Junior and Zero, who despite the storm and increasing darkness were still loading non-perishables that we've boxed up onto the back of one of the trucks I'd arranged to use. We have battery-operated lights, some aren't even that lucky. We've already hauled ass and repaired four roofs just in the last three days, attempting to beat the predicted rain. If the weather was going to ruin and end lives here, it should now have the decency to stay outside of the homes it hadn't completely destroyed.

Luckily, among my RangeTeam, I have some of Kurt's men who were able to get repairs done while Steph and I were busy on the other side of the island. J.C. and Marcel being in the same physical shape as they were when they were first deployed, they haven't slowed down at all. They're currently helping Armador, our unofficial guide/helper bundle together individual care packages for everyone who still needs more than just water bottles and paper towels chucked at them during a press op. The four men who accompanied Marcel and J.C. in Kurt's honor, were already gone for the day, putting the screws to some more houses or people responsible for not providing what they should have.

"On the upside, the ten of us get to hang out together with none of those pesky modern day inconveniences like lights, air conditioning, running water, and reliable internet access."

"Your sarcasm is showing, Babe."

"Good. I'm still pissed on everyone living on the island's behalf, as well as their families and friends who know what's going on here and can't get anyone else to acknowledge - or help fix - it."

"You're helping, Steph," Bobby reminded her.

"Not enough. We should've been here months ago ..."

"Government assistance should've been given months ago," I pointed out. "We wouldn't have been needed if Puerto Rico received as much media attention and financial support as Texas and Florida did with Maria and Harvey."

"Exactly. So whatever I can do, I'm going to."

"You being here is enough," I tried to tell her.

"No it isn't. With the reported 'excess deaths' now in the thousands due to the storm's ripple effect, I think everyone deserves far more than they've gotten ... even from us," she told us, adding another letter to a box as it was being walked past by J.C. "A personal message from me to show that they aren't alone out here, is literally the least I can do. My handwriting at least is improving with every stay strong well-wish. Mrs. Benedetti's prodigious effort in teaching me how to hold a pencil correctly has clearly paid off, since I can write these without anyone needing a chicken scratch-translator to read them."

Seeing how she likes to adopt my men, it wasn't a surprise to discover that from the moment we landed, she embraced the place and the people like she'd found a second home. Our days have been longer than the daily grind in Trenton, but seeing the slight difference we're making seems to be reenergizing her.

"It isn't your teacher's diligence paying off, Babe. It's you. You care and it shows."

"I have a partner in crime there," she said, leaning forward to give me a quick kiss. "Well, eight crime-partners today, minus the crime."

"One could say staying on the right side of the law is a carefully choreographed ballet," Bobby stated, waxing poetic in the ninety-degree heat and all-too-familiar no lights, no cool air, no amenities in some cases, conditions.

"Some could, but we're righting a wrong, not creating a new one," she stated.

I can't agree more. Sometimes donating money to a good cause isn't enough. I've been in war zones that look similar to what we've seen since landing ... flattened homes, uprooted trees, children crying and elders' eyes looking resigned. My experiences usually involve bombs, dictators, and terrorists, but the outcome here is too close to a war-scene for comfort. That this type of destruction happened in my country that I'd die to protect, means it's my job to clean up the mess.

"We're ready to roll," J.C. informed me. "Good thing the truck runs on gas, not electricity or we'd be fucked."

"It's early," Bobby replied, "the screw-potential is still high. I warn you now, if I see one more person without a solid roof overhead or running water under it, I won't be responsible for my actions."

"Good," Steph told him. "We should be mad as hell. If we forced our families to live like some people here have, we'd get charged with abuse and immediately be locked up, but because it's 'someplace else' where we don't have to look out our windows and see the damage ourselves, we can comfortably ignore it."

"You didn't hesitate in agreeing to come with me, Steph," I said in a serious tone so she'd listen harder. "You aren't ignoring anything."

"But I should be doing ... more."

"You can," Marcel said with a quick grin, "by starting to load truck two. We'll be back in less than twenty minutes if the weather and roads cooperate."

"What we do in blackouts as adults is definitely different than what we did as kids," she said, with a small smile back at him.

"Oh really?" I asked her, purposely being playful to keep her mind and mood from turning dark. "The first one to finish packing will get beach-duty this afternoon after the rain is gone."

Although that means cleaning more debris off it rather than relaxing on it, Steph only paused to give Marcel and J.C. each a 'Thanks for coming here with us' forearm squeeze before hurrying to roll up the back door of the box truck to hopefully get a jumpstart on winning.

Not only can you make a difference wherever you are in the world, you can also actively choose to enjoy every moment of it.