Ranger was driving around in his black BMW. His mind was not on talking to Gaspick today. He had every intension of going and talking to the man to see if he could get him to drop the charges on Alex; but he now found himself angry. His anger would not be a good thing for confronting a police officer who was still intent for all practical purposes as to seeing to the punishment of a minor for her indiscretion.
Hal noticed Ranger was in his zone. The quietness inside the car was making Hal get uncomfortable at seeing his mentor in this state. For himself, Hal couldn't believed he had allowed Alex to talk to him that way. Hal knew, or at least he hoped he knew that Ranger would explain the situation to the kid of how things would be in the future. He thought this kid needed to be taught a lesson in respect and manners.
So what if she grew up how she did. Hal thought, "it still doesn't give her the right to talk to Ranger like she did. He looked over at Ranger, he could see Ranger's jaw was set, he glanced at Ranger's hands, his knuckles white with the taunt strain of gripping the wheel. Hal really hated seeing him like this, he was explosive in this nature. Ranger was right about Stephanie, she has no control over her skips. Hell, I'm surprised she brings in as many as she does. Luck can only get you so far in this game. He just couldn't let it go. If he could just give up helping her, and running to her every time she asks, things would go back to normal. He's already spent several hundred thousand dollars on her. Not to mention all the time and money he's paid for us to do it as well.
Hal couldn't believe Ranger would allow himself to sink so low as to take on the responsibility of Stephanie Plum, when she was someone else's girlfriend. Morelli needs to do this shit. Someone really needs to knock some sense into that women. She needs a different job. What she really needs to do is get out of Ranger's life. It's all because of her our lives have been turned upside down to pander to a damn clueless female. That's the problem, females are nothing but trouble. He glanced at Ranger again, he had circled this block for the seventh time. I can't believe he actually paid to have an FTA released from a loan shark. Big deal he can relate to this kid. Doesn't mean he has to play Daddy to the little fuck. This kid is nothing but trouble and deserves to pay for what she's done. She has problems with authority and a good solid year in lock-up would probably help with that.
"What are we going to do today?" Hal asked Ranger no longer being able to stand the silence and the continued path around the same set of blocks.
Ranger looked over at Hal then went back to staring at the road he was driving on. Ranger knew he wouldn't be good for anyone for the rest of the day. Bobby had Stephanie and Lester would be with Alex. He just needed to dump Hal somewhere. He figured it was time he went in the wind for twenty-four hours or more with no interruptions. Ranger made a u-turn and drove to Rangeman. "I'm dropping you back off at headquarters."
Hal furrowed his brow at him, "You want me with anyone?"
His men always worked in teams, other than when he rotated out his personal team. Tank, Lester, and Bobby, those were his personal team members. They all meshed real well together, but here lately he was wanting to add another person to the team so they could start having more time. He had been giving Tank more responsibilities and it was now eating in Tank's amount of time he was able to spend with Lula. He really didn't like that. But he didn't want to leave the two youngest of his team in charge. Lester and Bobby were players, he knew those two wouldn't be able to crack down. Both of them would go into withdrawals from not having women around them if longer than four days. He felt Bobby was getting a little better about this, but Lester he was still certain was the consummate playboy. Lester liked younger women, it didn't help the fact that Lester had an fake identification card made so he could actually get in the younger clubs. Bobby had one as well. Those two both were driving him nuts, but he couldn't help but like them. They meshed well with him. Tank was his rock and right hand man. Tank found Bobby and Lester amusing, just as much as he himself did. But with Hal, Hal was a different story. Hal got along with Ranger, Tank, and Bobby. With Lester, the two never really hit it off, but for at the first. That was when he started noticing slight changes in Lester's attitude towards Hal. He had a change himself towards Hal when Hal wasn't able to keep Stephanie where he wanted her kept.
Lester is going to be pissed with me. I can't leave Hal on his own though, the man thinks he's the problem solver in my operation. Granted at times he's solved quite a few problems with the guys. I know Hal hates it that Lester catches all the hot young girls who are barely legal, but that is just who Lester is. Hal just needs to get over that and get along with Lester. Ranger thought as he pulled up in front of his building. "You're with Lester."
Ranger heard Hal get out and shut the door, he heard the muttered oath. Ranger shook his head and drove away. I need to get my head on straight, what I really need is to talk to my brother, not over the phone this time. With that in mind, Ranger wound his way to the highway, Jose Manoso lived in Connecticut. They would know when he started heading in this direction they would know exactly where he was headed. And when he went to see his brother, they also knew, that under life and death was the only way he would report in or receive phone calls. Ranger turned off his cell phones in the car. He would leave the GPS tracking on, but that was all.
Babe! Why did you have to fight with me? Why? Ranger hated this feeling that was coming over him. He felt like Stephanie was pulling away from him, it was engulfing him. That was one of the reasons why he just needed to get away. He didn't really know how to deal with this feeling, this feeling of loss that was starting to hurt. He had never seen Stephanie that angry with him before, with Morelli? Yes, he had seen her angry with Morelli to the point of war breaking out between them.
Ranger turned on the radio he needed something to distract his mind, when the sound died out Ranger glanced at the radio. Lester had taken his car out to get it cleaned just last night, the next song was starting up and Ranger realized Lester had left a cd in the cd player. He reached to turn the cd off but stopped when he heard the words of the song.
It isn't a crime to want, a little space to breathe, but you will be fine, the sun again will shine on you, whatever you do. Ranger started the song over again, when it got the first part done he let it continue to the chorus next. Take your sweet, sweet time, I will be here when you change your mind, take your sweet, sweet time, I will be here for you baby. Anytime. Ranger smiled, his breathing started to even out and he wasn't gripping the steering wheel quite so hard now. I'm feeling you pull away, 'cause letting go isn't easy for me, but you'll never fly, with someone else's wings, I know, wherever you go. Ranger reached over and pressed the stop button.
Lester, I'm going to kill you, what are you doing listening to this mush in my car? Ranger thought, he pushed the eject button and looked at the cd. Jesse McCartney 'Beautiful Soul'. He pushed it back in and flipped the tracks until it came back to the song again. The song finally got to the next part after the chorus repeats itself, I will never stand in your way, wherever your heart may lead you, I will love you the same, and I will be your comfort every day, do you hear the words I say? Ranger listened as the chorus repeated one last time and the final time. He hit the eject button, pushed the button for his window to roll down and tossed Lester's cd out onto the highway.
Ranger continued driving in silence, he had the words playing over and over again in his head on that song.
"Fuck!" He pounded the steering wheel and went over three lanes of traffic so he could get to the exit. He sped down the exit ramp, and then started looking for a store. Ranger found a Jon-Roc Music store and pulled into the parking lot. He sat breathing, trying to get his heart rate back to a speed that he considered normal instead of the racing thump, thump, thump it was going. He exited the BMW and then jerked the door open and wanted to shoot the bell above his head that tinkled his entrance. He stalked over to the cd racks and started looking for the cd he had just thrown out. He found the cd and went to the counter and slapped it down on the counter. The very gay blonde behind the counter picked it up and giggled when he saw it. He looked up at Ranger and his mouth dropped.
"Er…Er…"
"Punch the buttons, and scan the cd. It's not hard, you get paid to do this job." Ranger said in a slow steady voice as his heart was pounding. Just ring me the hell up so I can get the teenie bopper cd.
He dropped his eyes back to the cd and then fumbled with the scanner dropping it twice in Ranger's presence. It was ten minutes later when Ranger walked out and noticed all the voided duplicates on his receipt for the cd. He shook his head and got in the BMW and slammed the door shut. He wanted to kill this singer for singing this song. But he had to hear it again.
He slit the clear foil wrapping off then opened up the jewel case and pushed the white cd back inside his player. He punched the forward button until he got to track four and started the BMW again. He peeled out of the parking spot and made his way back to the highway. Ranger had found his hand going back to the cd player and hitting repeat for the song. Whatever it was doing, it was started to calm the savage beast that was residing just below the surface in him.
Bobby let out a ring of explicatives and he climbed out of the garbage dumpster. He looked at his clothes, "Shit! My life is shit. Stephanie hates me."
He strode over to the Bronco that had been left for him and climbed in after he opened the door. Bobby didn't care that the Bronco was going to have to be scrubbed to within an inch of its life. "Lester can fucking clean the Bronco. God! I can't stand this smell." Bobby rolled down all the windows he could and put the air on full blast, it still wasn't helping. His eyes were watering, he smelled bad, worse than bad. He smelled the worst he ever had in his entire life.
"Stephanie Plum!"
He drove to the apartment him and Lester shared when they weren't staying the night at the headquarters. Bobby climbed the stairs and wrestled with the door as his anger was building. Their neighbor across the way opened her door and came out.
"Awgh, God what is that smell." She said.
Bobby whipped around. She had just moved into the complex and now he looked like shit. He looked like shit in front of a young blonde bombshell beauty that he had been trying to nail ever since she had moved in.
Her eyes looked up and saw Bobby covered in filth, she saw him grin shyly at her. "Gawd its coming from you." She fanned her hands in front of her face and ran down the stairs. "Gawd you reek, you stinking reek. Forget about tonight, I'm not into that smell."
Bobby growled and turned around and finally was able to escape into the apartment. "Thanks a lot Stephanie, there now goes my Friday night tryst."
Bobby stripped his clothes in the foyer of the place and stalked naked into the kitchen and grabbed a black trash bag. "No way I'm keeping those clothes." He went back to the foyer and then shoved the clothes violently inside the bag ripped the bag in the process as it busted open and the clothes spilled out all over the foyer making an even bigger mess.
"Fuck!"
He went back into the kitchen and grabbed another bag out of the box and did the process all over again. This time keeping his violent reactions to a minimum so he could dispose of the repulsive mess. Bobby stalked off to the bathroom and pulled the shower curtain back so hard the whole pole holding the shower curtain on came down with a crash on the tile floor. He didn't bother fixing anything back in place. Instead he started the shower and scrubbed himself clean three or four times trying to rid himself of the smell of the dumpster. Stepping out of the shower he looked around at the drenched room. He hung his head.
"Someone must really hate me." He looked up to the ceiling, "Was I such an asshole in my former life that you just had to have a good laugh over me today?"
He grabbed a towel and started drying off. "I promise, I won't be such a horn dog anymore if you only let me find her. I'll promise anything if you just let me find her before Ranger finds out I've lost her."
Going to his bedroom he pulled out clean clothes. "I have to find her, my life depends on my finding her." He said as he pulled the shirt over his head and stuffed his arms through the sleeves. He looked into the mirror. "Calm down, start thinking like Stephanie again. She wanted Lula. Where would Lula be?"
He shook his head yes, "The bond office, I know, I'm going." He told his reflection, "you don't have to tell me twice." Bobby sat on the bed and laced up his black sneakers and then took off out of the apartment. "One step at a time. She never seemed to be able to think that far in advance. She's impulsive, so I have to start thinking impulsively."