Thanks for all of your patience and sorry for the delay. For once, it's not my fault. I uploaded this chapter but was unable to post it due to an error on the FanFiction site.

Now that it's up, enjoy and let me know how you're enjoying things.

Lester's POV

Ranger called a meeting after his conversation with Beautiful. He filled us in on what she told him, and afterward, he went down to the basement and started punching the cinderblock walls without gloves or protection of any sort. The rest of the guys had never seen him like this so I was dispatched to deal with him.

Instead of discouraging him from hitting the wall, I egged him on. I told him that he was a pussy and that he was no match for the General or whoever was wrecking his life. After three punches to the wall, he turned to me and started swinging in my direction. I knew it wouldn't be pleasant for me, but it would be easier on Ranger's hands if he hit me instead of a cinder-block wall. I dodged or blocked most of his swings, and after about 20 minutes, he just stopped. He looked at me and he looked down at his hands and sort of collapsed onto the floor.

I rubbed my sore jaw, one of the places that he managed to get by my defences with a well aimed jab. I looked down at him and sat plopped down beside him. "We'll figure out what's going on Ranger. They won't get away with it."

Ranger nodded and said, "I just can't believe that Rachel would get involved in something like this. I gave her and Julie a huge monthly allowance. She wanted for nothing. I just don't get it. I also don't understand why Tim West is involved or how the General could turn on me. Even if he was being blackmailed, I would have thought he would stand up for me."

I didn't really know what to say to alleviate his distress so I just sat there in silence with him until he either decided to talk or to get up. After what seemed like an hour, Ranger turned to me and asked, "I put my life in danger for this country. I work almost 18 hours a day to pay for my daughter to have a good life. What have I been doing wrong that those two things could so easily be used against me?"

I shook my head and said, "I don't know Ranger. It sounds to me that somebody is pulling the strings trying to manipulate you into doing something against your will. At this point in time, West is the only person I see capable of pulling the General and Rachel's strings. Are you sure you don't know who he is?"

Ranger looked at me and I could tell that he was thinking despite his blank face. He looked up and around the room as if he was looking for something to spark a thought or memory. After a few minutes, he sighed and said, "I know the name, but that's probably because he works for Black Scorpion. RangeMan was asked to work with them a few times but I always turned them down. I don't see that as a reason for him to go after me."

Ranger was silent for a few more minutes before asking "Did RangeMan send over the search results? Maybe they will spark a memory or provide some additional information or something."

I shrugged and said, "Dunno, let's go find out. You can ice your knuckles as well. They look pretty beat up."

Ranger looked down at his hands and grimaced at the blood caked on his knuckles. I directed him to the bathroom and I went looking for the laptop that we were using to communicate with Tank and the RangeMan offices.

I walked into the sitting room where George was working. He had papers spread out all over the coffee table and the sofa. I looked around the room and caught George's eye. He said, "At this point in time, I have no idea what's going on. I hope Miss Plum has a good idea up her sleeve. A confession or proof of hers or West's involvement would be quite helpful."

I smiled and said, "If I know Beautiful, she'll come up with something that sounds absurd but will actually work. She had a knack for that sort of thing."

George seemed to accept my words at face value and returned to his work. I picked up the laptop and took it into the kitchen where Ram was busy cooking something that smelled delicious. Ranger distracted me from the food when he came in and asked the status of my findings.

"The laptop is just booting up now. We'll know momentarily."

Ranger nodded and looked towards Ram and said, "What smells so good?"

"It's 5-bean chilli. It's almost ready to eat. I just need to add a few last minute spices."

I nodded and said, "Great, we'll go over the search results with the whole team after we eat."

Ram shouted that the food was ready and the men descended like a herd of elephants. Ram dished up bowls and handed out spoons as everyone gathered around the table. After the bowls were empty and cleared away, Ranger read out excerpts from the search results. Everyone there was familiar with his name, but nobody knew the man personally.

I watched Fiona as she listened to our conversation. After we were out of ideas, she said, "Do we have West's military history? Maybe it will reveal something that a civilian search missed."

Ranger stared at her and asked, "I will have to go through legal channels to get that. I will ask George to see if he can pull some strings." She nodded and sat back watching and listening to us throw ideas around.

I read over Ranger's shoulder and said, "Call the Trenton office and see if Zip is around. He knew who West was based on his photo, so he might have some insight into who he is and how he might know you."

Ranger nodded and pulled the phone towards him and dialled, leaving it on speaker.

"Yo."

"Hey Tank. Is Zip still in the office?"

"I think so. Do you want to talk to him?"

"Please."

We waited for a moment and then Zip's voice came on the line.

"What can I do for you Ranger?"

"Zip, can you tell me everything you know about Tim West and how you know him?"

Zip spent the next 10 minutes telling us about how West was a junior officer under his father. He was also good friends with Zip's brother Ziggy who was killed a few years ago. West stayed in touch with Zip and even offered him a job at Black Scorpion when he took over. Zip turned him down politely because he liked working for RangeMan. In the end, Zip was unable to give us any information that we didn't already know.

After getting off the phone with Trenton, we talked until it got late. At 10:30, Ranger turned to me and said, "Stephanie's plane is due to land in about 20 minutes. Can you please go pick her up? You'll have to take the scenic route back to ensure that you aren't followed. An extra set of eyes might not be a bad idea either. Take a partner and bring her back safe."

I nodded and looked around the table at the men sitting there. They all looked exhausted from the hectic schedule we were following to ensure the safe house remained safe. In the end, Ranger recognised my dilemma and turned to Fiona and asked, "LeBlanc, would you mind accompanying Santos? He needs a fresh pair of eyes and the rest of the guys are nearing exhaustion."

Fiona agreed and we took one of the unmarked SUVs and drove to the airport. We drove in silence for most of the way. When we neared the airport, Fiona looked at me and said, "I'm looking forward to meeting this woman. You all talk about her like she's larger than life or more than human."

I smiled at Fiona and said, "There's just something about her that makes us all want to spend time with her and be her friend. I love her more than I thought was possible."

I saw the look on Fiona's face and realised how my statement sounded. I thought an elaboration would be helpful. "I'm not in love with her. I love her like a sister. I'm protective of her and I would do anything to keep her safe."

The expression on Fiona's face softened a little and said, "Ranger doesn't love her like a sister, does he?"

I laughed and said, "No. They've loved each other almost as long as they've known each other. They're both terrified of commitment, so it's taken them this long to get together. It's unfortunate timing really. This whole situation is single-handedly keeping them apart and they are both frustrated and a bit depressed as a result."

Fiona snickered and said, "Yeah, I saw Ranger's hands after your little exchange in the basement."

We parked in the short-stay parking lot and headed inside to wait for Beautiful. As soon as she saw me, she smiled and walked into my open arms. "Lester, I'm so glad to see you. I was so worried when you were missing."

I smiled down at her and said, "It's thanks to you that I'm here Beautiful. You helped find me."

I watched her shake her head as she said, "Actually, it was Lula. She did really well. I'm so proud of her. She's much more resourceful and way smarter than we ever gave her credit for before."

I smiled and said, "I'll be sure to thank her when I see her then."

I watched as Stephanie focused her attention on Fiona and realised that I had forgotten to introduce the two women. "Beautiful, let me introduce Fiona LeBlanc, or as I prefer to call her, Firecracker."

I watched Fiona roll her eyes at me and heard Beautiful laugh and say, "I see that Lester has bestowed a nickname upon you already. He has a nasty habit of doing that. Personally, I think it's because he doesn't want to memorise people's names. He's lazy that way."

Fiona laughed as we walked to the car and said, "I suggested the same thing when he first tried to assign one to me. He went through several before he settled on his current one."

I listened in horror as Beautiful and Firecracker spent the entire trip from the airport to the safe house talking about me as if I wasn't there. Eventually, the conversation lulled as Beautiful began to doze in the back seat. Firecracker was smart enough to know that Beautiful was tired and let her sleep as we ran around D.C. to ensure that we were not being tailed.

Firecracker noticed a tail shortly after Steph fell asleep. We lost that tail and then we discovered a second one. Three hours later, after taking sharp turns and backtracking all the way to the airport, we both agreed that we were tail free and headed back to the safe house.

I woke up Beautiful when we arrived and helped her up to the room where Ranger was sleeping. She was quiet going in and I walked Fiona back to where she was sleeping and then crashed on the sofa just outside her room. It had been a long day and I had a feeling that things would only get worse.

The next chapter will be posted tomorrow or the following date at the latest. I'm still working on it. Thanks for your patience and your encouragements.

L.