I hope you don't have your hopes up for another 3 chapter day. I will only be able to upload one, but it has a few answers. Enjoy!
Ranger's POV
I wish I knew what was going on in my Babe's head. She seems confident in her secrecy, but I wish she'd hurry up and tell me. I rarely ever get this way but I'm beginning to lose my patience. I couldn't pass enough time by taking my frustrations out on Lester. Luckily, LeBlanc is a formidable sparring partner. She was able to challenge me enough that I was able to pass the time with a good workout.
There was no clock in the gym, so I looked at my watch to check the time. LeBlanc took advantage of this the first time so I learned not to look. In the end, not looking at my watch worked in my favour. I killed enough time and I figured Stephanie would be nearly finished by now. I took a quick shower after my workout and quietly opened the door to our room. I smiled as I found Stephanie posed in what she refers to as her 'thinking position.'
I was torn at that moment. 98% of me wanted to jump her right there and then. The other 2% of me wanted to know what she found. I walked to the foot of the bed and stood there looking down at her. After about two minutes, my Babe opened her eyes. She smiled up at me and said, "I think I know who's behind this whole thing. I know who, but I don't know why. We need to talk to West before we know why."
"Tell me Babe, I want to know what you found out."
She shook her head and said, "I need you to trust me Ranger. I don't' have all the answers, so I think leading West by asking specific questions will get us the information we need."
I smiled down at my Babe and looked into her deep blue eyes. "I do trust you Babe. I trust that you will get to the bottom of this mystery. I trust that we will get to have our second date soon."
Stephanie took my hand and gathered some papers together and placed them in a folder. She then picked up the folder and walked down to the basement, pulling me after her.
Stephanie's POV
We entered the interrogation room and resumed our previous positions. Ranger stood at the door with is arms crossed and I sat at the table. I opened the folder in front of me and showed West the first photo in the pile. I slid it across the table and watched his reaction. West tried, but was incapable of putting forth a blank face. He struggled to maintain his composure, even though he already admitted to being there.
The photo was of him and Rachel at the bank. I was pretty sure why the bank caused him concern, but I wanted to go step by step for the record. I looked at West and asked, "Where did the 3 million dollars come from? There was no deposit record and you didn't carry it in."
West just stared at me and refused to answer. I didn't care. I already knew the answer and explained it to him and Ranger. "We know that it was actually Rachel that opened the account, but you were the one that provided the cheque. It was given to you moments before by Gina Matthews. We have the two of you on the surveillance tape and Gina clearly hands you a piece of paper. You handed that same piece of paper to the bank employee a few minutes later."
Both Ranger and West looked shocked. I knew I surprised them, but that was the whole point. I was looking for a specific reaction from West. I took my time smoothing the bent corner of the next photo and handed it to West. I looked up at Ranger and smiled. I then slid the second photo to West and asked him a question before he really had time to register what he was seeing.
"Can you tell me who that is?"
West looked up at me and he was clearly afraid. I didn't let up and handed him the next photo. This one was new to Ranger and one that I found during my search. West looked at it with confusion. He looked up at me and asked, "What is this?"
I smiled at him and said, "This is a photo of Mrs. Enrique Escobar. You may or may not know this, but he was a Columbian crime lord that was killed a few years ago."
West looked confused and asked, "Why are you showing me this?"
"I'm showing you this because Gina Matthews is Paula Escobar." West started down at the three photos and looked more confused than ever. I smiled at him but my small victory was interrupted when Ranger cleared his throat and said, "Babe, can I please see you out in the hall?"
I looked up at Ranger. I was surprised by his request but I complied. I took the photos from West and walked out into the hall. Once the door was closed, Ranger took the photos from my hands and studied them. He looked at me and said, "It looks like two different women Babe, why are convinced that this is the same woman?"
I knew this question was coming, although I expected it from West rather than Ranger. "She had two rounds of plastic surgery just before her husband was killed. She had a nose job and some implants added to her cheeks and chin. Here is the last photo of her and her husband before he was killed."
I saw the look on Ranger's face when he looked at the photo. It was like he was seeing a ghost. He reached out and put a hand against the wall as if to steady him. He looked at me and said, "I was part of the team that was sent to Colombia to stop Escobar. We were originally asked to arrest him but Escobar didn't want to go to prison.
"We spent almost two years traipsing around the countryside. Lester was there too, but I was the one that eventually pulled the trigger and ended Enrique's life. After his death, Paula was left with nothing because all of their money was confiscated by the Colombian government."
I touched Ranger's face and said, "Ranger, we now know who is responsible for all of your troubles. All we have to do is get West's confession and we're done."
Ranger looked at me and said, "I just don't understand how this woman knew that I was the one that killed her husband. I never saw her and as far as we're aware, she wasn't home the night that Escobar was killed."
"I don't know Ranger, but we'll find out."
Ranger nodded and opened the door to let me back in the room with West. He looked up and said, "What does this Escobar woman and Gina have to do with one another?"
I handed West the last photo and said, "This is Paula Escobar three weeks before her husband was killed. She underwent a bit of plastic surgery and as you can see, Paula and Gina are the same woman."
West started asking his own questions. "I don't understand. What does this have to do with Ranger?"
I looked at West and said, "Gina manipulated you in a plot to avenger her husband's death. I bet she sought out the General because he was in charge of all foreign missions. She then picked you out as a malleable pawn who had something against both the General and Ranger. Involving Rachel was probably her idea as well. I doubt you could have come up with part of the plan on your won."
West looked dejected. He looked up at me and almost whispered, "I thought she loved me. She told me that we could be together after the General was arrested and out of the way. I believed her."
Ranger's POV
When I saw the photo of Escobar's wife, I finally understood why this was all happening. It was revenge, plain and simple. After West admitted that Gina tricked him, I took over the interview. I walked over to my Babe and motioned for her to stand. As soon as she was standing, I took a seat and pulled her down on my lap. I looked at West and asked, "Was the General involved in this? Or was he simply blackmailed into falsely arresting me?"
West grimaced and said, "He didn't go along with us when the bank account was first opened. We had to threaten his daughter before he complied. He's already tendered his resignation because he was so disgusted with himself. I actually feel bad for the guy."
This made me feel a little bit better. I didn't think that the General would betray me so readily. West's confession was proof enough for me to go easy on the General. I would try to make sure he was given the lightest sentence possible when charges get filed against him. At this point, I hope they just accept his resignation and let him live out the rest of his days in peace.
West looked a little dejected, but I wasn't finished with him yet. I looked at him and asked, "Why and how did you get Rachel involved?"
West looked almost ashamed and said, "Gina convinced me that Rachel's involvement was necessary. She thought it would cause the most confusion and pain when you found out that she was involved."
I thought about Escobar and his death. His wife would have had no idea that I was there or that I was the one that killed her husband. I didn't understand how she found me and how she identified me.
*****Flashback to Colombia 5 years ago*****
My team and I have been running surveillance on a high value target for the past 15 months. When our team was selected, only individuals who were of Latin or Spanish descent were considered because we were going to Colombia. I was given command of the operation and I ordered my men to integrate themselves into the local community as best as possible.
True to his character, Lester Santos used the local female population for information and company. Somehow, no fights broke out between the numerous women. They simply accepted the time they could spent with Lester and didn't complain when he was with another.
When Lester came to me after almost a year and a half to tell me that his new playmate was none other than Paula Escobar, I could see the end in sight. Lester got several pieces of information that put some of our men in position to work for Escobar. He also learned that Paula loved her husband for his money. He beat her regularly, but she kept going back. She would put up with a lot of things to have access to that kind of many.
One day, Paula stopped returning Lester's phone calls about three months before our mission was finally concluded, and we all teased him that he was losing his touch. Lester did a bit of digging and found out Paula checked into an exclusive private clinic in Bogota. We assumed it was alcohol or drug related because she always seemed to be under the influence of one or the other. Her husband wasn't a nice guy so she passed her time by spending his money or making herself chemically happy.
Two months later, we managed to get two of our men on the inside using the information that Paula originally provided. They joined the security team on the Escobar estate and were able to learn all of the security protocols. After three weeks, the rest of the team infiltrated the compound with the intention of arresting Escobar. Unfortunately, Escobar refused to be taken to prison. He pulled a gun on me and I was forced to shoot him in self defence.
The Colombian government pretended to be disappointed that they weren't going to be able to make an example of Escobar. Their complaints died down when they found out that Escobar's confiscated estate was worth billions. Everyone was happy with the result of the mission and I took my money and left ran. I left the Rangers and started saving for RangeMan.
*****End of Flashback*****
I looked at West. He looked somewhat nervous. I wanted him to be terrified, but more than that, I needed to know how Paula found out that I was the one who killed Enrique.
"West, do you know why Gina targeted me specifically?"
West shook his head and said, "She never told me. I just assumed that you broke her heart in a previous life and that she wanted revenge. You've seen her picture. She's hot and she does all sorts of things in the bedroom. Those things made it worth my while to make your life a bit of a nightmare. I've been trying to get you to work for me for years but you keep turning me down. You always thought that you were too good for Black Scorpion, but it was the other way around."
I rolled my eye and said, "You don't have to worry about that. Black Scorpion will be going down with you. The company provided the personnel who kidnapped me. They owned the building where I was held captive and you are a senior member of staff. The company won't survive once all of this comes out."
West looked at me in shock. "I was honest with you. There's no need for you to take me and my company down just for a few practical jokes."
This made me angry so I lifted my Babe off my lap and picked West up by the collar before I started talking. "Practical Jokes? You call those practical jokes? You are guilty of several federal and state crimes. kidnapping, bank fraud and extortion, just to name a few. You also involved my ex-wife and now my daughter might have to grow up without her mother. Do you honestly think I'd let you get away with that?"
West's facial expression was a little more scared, but he still had a smug look on his face. I didn't know what could possibly make him think he'd get away with this. I just stood there and stared at him. After 5 minutes of silence, West started to smile. He looked at me and said, "If Gina is unable to contact me, she'll move onto plan B. Trust me when I tell you that you're not going to like Plan B."
My next action somehow went from my hand to West's face, skipping my brain altogether. I looked down at West's prone body on the floor with surprise. I looked over at my Babe and saw her staring at me with wide eyes. She recovered quickly and said, "Ranger, we need to call the authorities and get them to pick up Gina."
I nodded and said, "What do you think her Plan B is?"
My babe frowned and said, "I think she's going to go after somebody you love. You killed her husband so she's going to want to hurt you in the same way. If you were still involved with Rachel, I'd say it was her. But since she's out of your life, I'd say Julie."
"I agree Babe. I'll call Ron now and then send Tank and a couple of the Miami office guys there to protect Julie. I'll also call my family and inform them that they might be in danger."
Babe and I left West on the floor and went to inform the guys of our next move. I went to find George and Babe went to talk to Tank. I trusted her to do her relay the necessary information to Tank because I needed to talk to George.
More will come tomorrow. Please let me know what you think so far.