The Cell Phone

by Mcshnee

COMPLETE! Once again Ranger rides to the rescue, and this time, he's carrying a cell phone. How can a phone change so much?

2. Chapter 2

Again, Stephs texts are bold, Rangers are Italic. Let me know what you think, I hope you enjoy it, more soon. xhx

Chapter three

Beep beep beep. I parked my car in front of the office and searched through the vast confines of my tote bag to find my cell phone.

Ah ha!

Thanks, have a good day too Babe. - R x

I smiled but decided it would probably be weird if I replied to that, besides what would I say? 'Thanks. Babe x' Then he might say 'Sure' and I'd say 'You're welcome' and it'd just be silly. So I slid my cell into my bag before the temptation to say something stupid got the better of me.

I angled out of my car and headed into the office.

'Bout time you got your skinny white ass in here.' Said Lula, painting her nails.

'I overslept.' I explained quickly.

Too quickly apparently, because Lula's gaze fixed on me, eyes narrowing, going into Rhino mode. 'You're hiding something. Connie, Steph's holdin out on us.'

'Doesn't seem right.' Connie agreed, glaring suspiciously at me.

'I got a new phone!' I said, trying to distract them, 'See?' I said, getting it out, 'It's all shiny.'

Lula opened her mouth to interrogate me, but luckily, Tank chose that moment to walk in. He nodded to me.

'Those the new files?' He asked Connie, gesturing to the pile on the left.

'Ugh.' Said Connie.

Tank nodded fractionally, like this was normal, and picked up the left pile. He turned to leave but paused as he saw my new phone.

'Nice.' He said. I bet he knows Ranger gave it to me.

'Thanks.' I said.

'Ranger has one just like it.' Tank continued, amusement leaking into his voice.

Yup. He knows.

'Really?' I said disinterestedly.

Tank's lips twitched and he nodded once more, then he made a surprisingly swift exit for such a bulky man.

I flipped open my phone and quickly started txting Ranger.

Tank saw my phone at the office - He seemed amused. I think he's going to rip the shit out of you. Babe x

Blunt…but hey, writing was never my strong point. Besides, forewarned is forearmed right? I'm sure the wording of the warning doesn't matter.

'Ranger gave you the phone.' Said Lula accusingly, 'And you weren't going to tell us.'

'Sure I was!' I protested.

Lula exchanged a glance with Connie, 'I can't tell if she's lying, she's an excellent liar.' Lula said.

'She grew up in the Burg.' Connie shrugged, as if that explained everything. If you'd ever lived in the Burg, then it did. The Burg has got fibbing down to an art form.

Beep Beep Beep.

Thanks for the heads up. He can try to rip the shit out of me, but I have way more material on him. Thanks Babe. – R x

I laughed, if Tank tried anything, I have no doubt Ranger will show him who's boss, and why.

'Was that Batman?' Lula asked.

'Yeah.' I admitted. 'Well…I've got to go.' I grabbed the remaining pile of folders and made a quick departure.

My day was pretty routine; I hauled in Mooner and Dougie and earned myself $500. Not much, but nothing to turn my nose up at either. No sight of Joe. Eddie told me that he was away on a case again.

My tummy did a sad little flop, he hadn't called in nearly three weeks, and now he was on an assignment without a word. The thing is, I think we both know our 'relationship', or whatever you'd call it, was on it's last legs, hopping painfully towards the finish line. It wouldn't be long before it was over for good, or maybe it already was.

With a sigh, I turned my mind away from morbid Joe thoughts, and I concentrated on the movie in front of me. At eleven I turned off my TV and headed to bed. I washed, and then I impulsively tugged on my new red silk night dress. It came to mid-thigh, and the neckline was low cut with a thin border of red lace. I was just about to go to sleep, when my cell beeped the now familiar ring tone that informed me I had a message.

One message received.

Yeah, yeah, I got that from the beeping.

Good day? – R x

I grinned and started to reply.

It was ok: no garbage, no explosions, no dead bodies. How was your day? Did Tank say anything? Babe x

Minutes later I had my reply, it was two messages long;

It was ok: no shootings, no arrests. Tank smirked a lot, but he was late for a meeting so he had to sit down and shut up - Of course, he was only late because I started the meeting ten minutes early…Thanks for the warning. – R x

I quickly typed my reply. Txting gets easy real fast. And addictive.

LOL. Very Clever, Mr Manoso - I'm impressed. And no shootings…good restraint; I heard you went after (and got) Moogey Dans. Babe x

Moogey was way out of my league. He got arrested for pushing kilo's of heroin to school kids, and it's rumoured that that's not the only thing Moogey forces on children. He's a sick bastard that deserves to be looked away. I'm glad Ranger got him.

Thanks, but my restraint's not that good – he may have a bruised kidney or two that I know nothing about. – R x

Probably I should gasp and be horrified, but…I can't quite manage it. If I imagine Moogey got his hands on Angie or Mary Alice…kidney jabs would be the last of his worries. So, rather than condemning Ranger's actions, I replied:

I hope he needs a testicular retrieval op too. And if he doesn't…I think I'm disappointed. Babe x

I was beginning to feel sleepy, but moments later I had another message.

Hate to disappoint: no op needed - but at least he won't be fathering children anytime soon. – R x

I smiled and typed a txt message back,

You could never disappoint. Babe x

I sent it and waited nervously for his reply.

Thanks Babe. Would you do me a favour? – R x

I bit my lip, but replied quickly,

Just name it. Babe x

My heart was in my throat whilst I waited for his reply.

Would you send me a picture of you? – R x

I smiled in relief, now that I can do! I was worried he was going to ask me to help him invade a small third world country, or that it was just going to be about a distraction job or something. But this request, this favour, was personal.

I'd spent a lot of time playing with the camera aspect of my phone today, so it wouldn't take me long.

I laid back on my bed, arranging my hair so that it curled down my shoulders. I held the phone above me, smiled, and took the picture.

There was no two ways about it…it was a sexy picture. I was on my bed in a red night dress, the outline of my breasts were just visible, and my smile was mischievous. But at the same time, there wasn't a lot of skin exposed and it wasn't dirty…it was just sexy.

I saved the picture and put it in a multimedia message, then I put Ranger's number in, took a deep breath, and pressed send.

My stomach clenched as I waited for Ranger to reply. A few slow minutes later, I got his message:

Yum.

That was it, the whole message. I laughed out loud and typed back what could be the only response.

;) Glad you enjoyed it. Babe x

I turned my phone on to vibrate and put it on the bed next to me, wondering if he would reply.

Buzz, Buzz.

Definitely, it's very enjoyable. It's on my background now, every time I open my phone, I'll see you sprawled over your bed in your sexy red night dress. Very hot Babe. – R x

I smiled in satisfaction, glad that he liked the picture, and that it had the desired effect. I decided to confess a little secret.

I open my phone about a hundred times more than necessary; you look great with your hair down. Babe x

I didn't need to mention the lack of shirt…it was damn obvious how sexy that was!

Buzz, Buzz.

Thanks, I'll wear it down around you more often. – R x

I yawned as sleep came knocking at my door.

See that you do! Good night, sleep well. Love Babe x

I slipped under the covers and turned out the side light.

Buzz, Buzz.

Goodnight Babe, sleep well. Love Ric x

My face got invaded by the hugest smile ever, and I couldn't resist replying, just so I could call him Ric.

Night Ric, sweet dreams. Love Babe x

Buzz, Buzz.

You too. Love Ric x

I snuggled deeply into my covers, the warmth of them surrounding me, and the warmth of something else pulsing in my heart.

---

Chapter 4

Ranger…uh…Ric and I have been texting each other for the past few days, it's surprisingly easy. And somewhere between friendship and double entendre, I grew comfortable talking with him.

Txting Ric means that I get to think about my answers for a few extra seconds, instead of just saying whatever comes into my head, so I'm more at ease with talking to him because I don't feel like I'm about to show him what a dope I am.

I saw Ranger at the office yesterday, and things weren't weird at all. His hand lingered a bit longer on my neck, his breath was closer to my ear, and his smile was a bit brighter. But beyond that, things were the same and I was relieved. I liked out friendship, I didn't want to mess it up with some txt flirting.

Not that either of us had said anything outrageous - but we did have half-naked pictures of each other…

I smiled at that and dug viciously into my tub of ice cream. It was a Thursday night and I was binge eating ice cream – I can't help it, I just had a Joe confrontation.

Joe came back from assignment, wanting to talk. So we did…the Italian way. There were swear words and big hand gestures, and nose to nose yelling. Finally I drew my gun on him and ordered him out. He smirked at me and dared me to shoot 'You don't even have bullets in that gun, Cupcake, and even if you did you wouldn't dare.'

NEVER tell a Burg girl what she wouldn't dare to do, because hell yeah, we'll do it! So I clicked off the safety and shot Joe in the foot.

He yelled in pain and started hoping around, making noises like he was speaking Chinese.

I smiled triumphantly and tried to hide my surprise – when had I loaded my gun?? Instead of asking this, I folded my arms across my chest and smirked. And then I took a picture of him with my phone…what? It was funny!

Joe hopped out of apartment, yelling obscenities and calling me names.

I'm pretty sure it's over with me and Joe.

But I'm just guessing.

I had another mouthful of ice cream and gave up binge eating – I just wasn't as upset as I thought I should be…there was this weird feeling of liberation instead.

A thought crossed my mind and I speed dialled one.

'Yo?'

'Yo yourself.'

'Hey Babe, what's up?'

'Just wondering if you put surprise bullets in my gun?'

'They weren't surprise bullets, but yeah, I put some bullets in your gun. Why?'

I giggled. 'Joe's back.'

'And you want to shoot him?' Ranger asked, sounding amused and a little bit hopeful.

'He came to talk to me.'

'And…?'

I giggled again, I couldn't help it, I kept seeing Joe's expression – a mangled look of shock, pain and absolute disbelief. I burst out laughing. 'In…foot…bang…'

'In foot bang?' Ranger repeated.

'I shot…Joe…in the...foot.' I gasped between giggles 'I didn't think my gun…was loaded! But you…gave me…surprise...bullets. Oh god, was Joe surprised!'

Ranger cracked up, 'You shot Joe in the foot?' He said, laughing.

'His face…' I sniggered.

'Remind me not to piss you off.' Ranger said, when he calmed down.

'I'm dangerous.' I agreed.

'Like DangerMouse?' Ranger suggested.

I started to laugh, 'no fair, you get to be Batman and I have to be DangerMouse? But hey, I bet I'd look cool with an eye patch – but then it would be even harder to be aware of my surroundings.'

I could feel Ranger's grin, 'Babe, you're never aware of your surroundings…an eye patch wouldn't make much difference.'

'Hey!' I protested, 'But wait, if I was DM wouldn't that make Lula my trusty sidekick Penfold?' I snorted, 'I can see the Halloween costumes now!'

Ranger laughed, 'Nah, can't waste you on a DM costume.'

'Oh? What do you suggest I should be?'

'A belly dancer, or a nurse, or a cheerleader.'

I laughed, 'any other fantasises that I should know about? Not Princess Leia?'

'Princess Leia never did it for me.' Ranger admitted.

'That's good, I look stupid with my hair in those dumb side bun things.'

'I'm not sure anyone can look good in those side bun things.' Ranger chuckled.

'True. I wonder if I can still fit in my cheerleading clothes?'

'You used to be a cheerleader?' Ranger's voice dropped.

'Sure. Give me an R - R! Give me an I - I! Give me a C - C! What does it spell? Ric! See?'

'I bet you were a great cheerleader.'

'I can still do the splits, and I can still make up the cheers too. When Joe pissed me off one time, Mary Lou and I made up this cheer - actually I probably shouldn't tell you.'

'Well you have to tell me now!' Ranger protested.

'True. Well basically, Joe was being an asshole because the stress of his job was getting to him and he…had problems.'

'Problems?' Ranger asked, I could hear the smirk.

'Yup. So when he pissed me off, Mary Lou and I made up this cheer…' I took a deep breath and affected a cheerleaders sing song voice,

'It's ok,

It's all good

It doesn't come up

like it should.

It's ok,

It's all right,

we can have sex

another night.'

Ranger burst out laughing, his warm laughter ran down the phone, making me grin.

'Babe,' he gasped, 'you never disappoint.'