Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any money. I'm just playing.
Trial no.4
Stephanie woke to the smell of fresh coffee again. Since her little blood sugar crisis, Ranger had taken it upon himself to ensure that she ate a proper breakfast each day. When she challenged him he claimed that it was self-preservation. So, every morning she woke to find coffee and juice waiting for her, and either the breakfast fairies would have left something in her kitchen to go with it or he would be waiting to take her out for breakfast.
This morning was a breakfast fairy day, but this was the first day that she was able to conclusively prove that breakfast fairies came with mocha latte skin and an all-black wardrobe. The fairy in question was unpacking a foil container that looked like it contained an omelet with grilled tomatoes and mushrooms. It smelled almost as good as he did.
She sat down on a stool in the kitchen and buried her face in the coffee cup that he passed to her. "You know that you're breaking the breakfast fairy code of conduct by letting me see you, right?"
He just pulled some toast out of her toaster and transferred it to her plate.
"Where are your wings?" she asked.
"Babe."
"C'mon. Everybody knows that fairies have wings. You can't be my breakfast fairy and not have wings. It's cheating."
He put the plate in front of her. "Just making sure that you don't try to beat me to death some time this afternoon."
"You're never going to let me forget that, are you?"
"Not in a hurry, no. What are your plans for today?"
She shrugged. "Pick up files from Connie. Try to catch whoever's in them. The usual."
"Come into the office first. Hal's requested additional training on skip tracing techniques. You can pick him up first and take him through the paperwork side of the work."
Stephanie froze with a forkful of omelet halfway to her mouth. "Me? You want me to train him?"
"He shouldn't need much. He's got most of the techniques down already, but he told Tank he wasn't confident with the paperwork."
"Okay. Just remember, you asked me. If he gets broken it's not my fault."
"Just eat your breakfast."
"Yes, Mom."
o0o0o0o0o
Stephanie picked up Hal at RangeMan and they drove to the bonds office to collect the day's files. She guided the SUV into a parking space at the rear and turned to Hal in the passenger seat. "So, this is where we collect the files. Connie gives us the files, and we sign a contract for each one authorizing us to apprehend them on Vinnie's behalf. You with me so far?"
Hal nodded. "Check."
"When we take a skip to the police station we collect a body receipt from the cops and give it to Connie. She then mails a check to RangeMan at the end of the week for all the body receipts we've given her that week. Still with me?"
"Yup."
"And that's it. Finis. So what exactly is it that you feel that you need to learn here?"
"I never feel happy until I've done it myself at least once," he said blandly.
"Ri-ight." She got out of the SUV. "In that case, it's time to stretch your intellectual muscles signing a bunch of authorizations."
Stephanie and Hal walked into the bonds office through the back door.
"Hang on, I'll be right with you!" Connie called from the store-room.
They sat down on the faded brown couch and waited.
Connie emerged a couple of minutes later. When she saw Stephanie and Hal on the couch she stopped dead. "Ahh… hi. I was just expecting Steph today. Um… not that it isn't great to see you… both. Um… let me get your files."
She reached for a pile of manila folders with suddenly shaking hands and knocked them on to the floor where they scattered across the floor of the office.
Hal jumped up and picked them up for her. He handed the pile back, fingers brushing hers as he did so.
Stephanie watched interestedly as Connie's face flamed. "Well, Hal, this is your big moment. Get signing those authorizations. I'm sure Connie has a pen that you can borrow. In fact, I'll leave you to it. I think I might have left my purse in the SUV. Connie, you'll help Hal, won't you?" She gave Connie an evil grin and walked out of the back door.
Connie made a face at Stephanie's departing back and waited for her to leave, then turned back to Hal. "I should thank you, for the drink and getting me home safe and everything." She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I must have been a complete nightmare."
"You're kidding, right? You were fantastic. And I had fun," he smiled. "Plus, it's not every day that you see a woman who can inspire strangers in bars to confess to wearing ladies' underwear."
The door to Vinnie's office opened and he popped his head out. "What? Who was wearing ladies' underwear?"
"Not again!" Connie scowled. "Hal, help me find the fucking bug."
o0o0o0o0o
Hal found the bug on the underside of Connie's monitor within five minutes. He handed it to her with a flourish. "Your bug, fair lady."
"Thank you, kind sir." She accepted it, and reached into her purse. "Cover your ears."
She held the bug up to the office smoke alarm and pressed the test button. An ear-splitting screech resounded around the room, and they heard a muffled, "Christ!" in Vinnie's office.
She then walked into the tiny bathroom and ceremoniously flushed the bug.
Finally she opened a box of donuts sitting on her desk and waved them under Hal's nose. "I think we should celebrate Vinnie's temporary deafness, don't you?"
He looked longingly at the box. "Donuts? I can't tell you how long it is since I ate a donut. Ranger really disapproves of donuts."
"Go on, you know you want to. Take a chocolate covered one. They have crème inside, too. They're Steph's favorites." Connie continued to hold the box out to him, moving it gently from side to side.
"For God's sake, woman, stop it. You're killing me here." But his eyes were fixed on the box.
"Just one."
"Damn it. Just don't tell Ranger. And don't tell Tank. Don't tell anyone," and he grabbed a Boston crème and stuffed it into his mouth. He closed his eyes and sat back on the couch with an expression of bliss. "Oh my Go', 'ats 'on'erful," he sighed round a mouthful of donut.
Connie smiled and walked round her desk to where he sat on the couch. She leaned into him. "I own you now, you do realize that?" she murmured in his ear.
His eyes were still closed. "And somehow I can't find it in myself to mind. You are a wicked, wicked woman."
Stephanie walked in and saw Hal sitting on the sofa, still chewing with a blissed-out look on his face, and Connie leaning next to him. "My God, what have you done to him?" she asked.
"Expanded his horizons a little bit."
Stephanie spotted the open box on the desk. "Just as long as you don't expand his waistline as well. Ranger will be bound to blame me if you get him fat. Now give me one of those before Lula gets here."
o0o0o0o0o
An hour later Stephanie and Hal pulled up outside a scruffy row-house in the suburbs of Trenton.
"Okay, what have we got?" Stephanie asked.
"Joe Ross. Possession, car theft, dangerous driving and assault of a police officer. About a page of priors, most of them for possession or assault. He's a RangeMan regular."
"Suggestions?" she prompted.
"We've picked him up a few times already, and Ranger put him in the hospital when he tried to pull a knife one time. Last time, he ran when he saw it was us, so chances are he'll run again."
"I'll take the front, you go round the back," Stephanie decided. "Be ready for him to come out the back door in a hurry." She checked her gun and jumped out of the SUV.
A thin, greasy looking man opened the door when she knocked. "Yeah?"
"I'm from RangeMan Security. You are in violation of your… and there he goes."
Ross had turned at the word RangeMan and was pounding towards the back door.
She took her gun from her holster and followed him at a more leisurely pace. "As I was saying," she called, "you are in violation of your bail bond, and we are authorized to escort you to the court-"
"You have to catch me first, bitch." Ross yanked open the back door and ran straight into Hal's outstretched arm, knocking him straight off his feet. He lay on the ground gagging and coughing where Hal's forearm had hit his throat.
"No problem." Stephanie said sweetly as she stepped in and snapped the cuffs on him. "Good clothes-line," she commented to Hal.
"One of my favorites." Hal hauled him to his feet and dragged him over to the waiting SUV.
o0o0o0o0o
They had just collected their body receipt for Ross when Stephanie's cell rang.
"Yo."
"Babe, meet me at Big Jim's for lunch?"
"Sure, I can do that. We just left the station."
"Get Hal to drop you off. See you in twenty."
Stephanie ended the call and turned to Hal with a sweet, terrible smile.
He regarded her suspiciously. "What?"
"I have to be at Big Jim's in twenty minutes. That means that you're going to have to drop the body receipt in at the bonds office all on your own. Think you can handle it, tough guy?"
"I'm sure Connie will help if I have a problem," he replied without meeting her eyes.
"Oh, so am I, Hal. So am I. Just don't turn your back on Vinnie. You know about Vinnie, right?"
"No. What about Vinnie?" Hal asked with a nervous look in his eye.
"Oh, nothing."
Ranger was already waiting when Hal dropped Stephanie off and she walked into the restaurant. She had refused to tell Hal anything else about Vinnie. After letting her out he had driven off in a cold sweat and she had finally given in to the grin that she had been fighting for the last twenty minutes.
"Something funny, Babe?"
"Girl stuff. If I told you, I'd have to kill you."
He shook his head. "I'm better off not knowing." He waved the waiter over and ordered their usual. "How's Hal doing."
"Fine. I think he's happier now than he was before. He could probably cover the bonds office run easily enough if I were busy elsewhere." No need for Ranger to know why that might be. Hal could thank her later.
The food arrived and they stopped talking and ate in companionable silence.
o0o0o0o0o
When the food was finished and the table cleared, Ranger threw a file down. "Connie's next job. Distraction tomorrow night."
"Another one? Wasn't the last one bad enough?" She skimmed the file quickly. "And this one's worse. Why does it have to be her?"
"Information is that he's hanging out at the Ship. You've already done two distractions there in the last six months. That makes you too likely to get made. Jeanne Ellen's well known there as well. It has to be her."
"The Ship is a fucking zoo, except the animals are in charge." Stephanie shivered remembering the last two times she had been in there.
"That's why it has to be a distraction. We'll have more men in there than usual in case it goes bad."
"Make sure you do."
There was a somber atmosphere at Connie's house as Stephanie and Lula helped Connie to get into her red dress ready for the job.
Lula was quiet and withdrawn. Stephanie was wondering what to say for the best. She hugged her closely and whispered in her ear, "You're not alone, okay?"
She was scared for Connie, and she would have been scared to do this one herself. The skip was a bad one. The place was worse. Lula's grim face and quiet voice as she had told Connie what to do had brought the situation sharply home. No matter much Connie and Stephanie worked in it, this wasn't their world. It had been Lula's once, and it had treated her badly. And now Connie had to try to pretend that she was a part of it for a little while.
o0o0o0o0o
Connie walked into the bar and looked around. It was a lot more crowded than the hotel bar in Philly, and it was a world apart. The few women that could be seen had hard, over made-up faces and wore the kind of clothes that Lula favored. When Stephanie and Lula had forced her into the red dress in Macy's she had felt brassy and trashy. In here it made her look like a lamb that had wandered into a den of wolves. Her skin prickled with the stares that she was attracting, and Stephanie's caution and Lula's grimness suddenly made sense. She fought the urge to bolt and tried to look confident as she made her way to the bar. Her heart beat a tattoo against her ribs and she pressed her fingers against the leather of her purse to feel the comforting shape of her gun inside.
She sat down at the bar and ordered beer in a bottle on Stephanie's instruction. She wasn't to take her eyes off it for a second, and if she did, she had to ditch it and get a fresh one. Her hands trembled slightly as she put the bottle to her lips.
The skip was a pimp called Sonny Chambers. He had girls working in the bar and on the street, and he had a reputation for enjoying keeping his women in line. The plan was that she would ask him for work and suggest that she come outside with her to see what she could bring to his business. The thought made her queasy.
The crazy thing was, she had dealt with people like Sonny, his girls and his customers for more years than she could remember, but that was at the bonds office, where she was in charge of the game. They played her way or they stayed in jail. Being on the other side was a sharp lesson in power: who had it and what it meant to the ones who didn't. She was starting to realize the amount of power she normally had through her work and her family, even if she hadn't known it and didn't use it. Being powerless and knowing it was a frightening experience, even if there were two Rangemen outside waiting for her. In here, she felt desperately alone.
She remembered Lula's face when she had asked for her advice. Lula was one of the toughest women she knew; the one that had lived a worse life than she could imagine, that had been brutalized by a psychopath and still clawed her way up and out into a better life.
When she had made her request, Lula had shrunk a little, lost a little bit of her shine.
"You sure about this?" she had asked.
"It's the best that we can come up with."
"Then I'll tell you everything I can. But first you get on that phone and order a bucket of extra crispy from Cluck-in-a-Bucket, and you pour me a drink and you keep them coming, 'cause I'm gonna need them."
And Lula had eaten her chicken, and lined up the drinks, and told her how to look like the kind of woman that would interest a parasite like Sonny Chambers.
Connie had been glad that she hadn't eaten any of the chicken.
o0o0o0o0o
A large red-headed man with a shaggy beard and deep-set eyes joined Connie at the bar and leaned uncomfortably close to her. She shrank away from him. He had to be as big as Tank, but he smelled a whole lot worse, mainly of spirits and stale sweat, but with other things mixed in that she didn't want to think about. She fleetingly wondered if King Kong knew about his family of Trenton cousins, and whether they stayed in touch.
"You're new."
"I am," she replied.
"You working?"
"Not yet."
He looked her slowly up and down and her skin crawled in a wave that followed the passage of his eyes. His piggy eyes wore a greedy, possessive look that made her want to turn tail and run.
"So you here looking for a date?"
"Business."
He stroked a large tobacco-stained finger along her cheekbone, tracing the shape of the lurid bruise that Lula had painted on her face an hour ago.
"Pretty. I'll see you when your business is finished."
"Where do I find you?" Connie fought to keep the tremor out of her voice.
"Oh, don't worry, I'll find you. That's half the fun."
He grinned and walked away, finally disappearing into the darkness of one of the booths along the side of the room.
Connie let out a breath and scratched the bare skin of her arms. They felt as though maggots were crawling over them. Then her stomach roiled and she jumped from her stool and rushed to the bathrooms.
She locked herself in a stall and took a few deep breaths. When her stomach had settled she used the facilities then left the stall to wash up.
An emaciated looking young woman with stringy, dark hair and deep purple shadows under her eyes was waiting for her by the sinks.
"You don't work here."
"Not yet," Connie answered.
It looked like one of Sonny's girls was going to try to defend her territory.
"Do yourself a favor and get out of here," the woman continued.
"I just need to talk to Sonny."
"Sonny's bad news, and Gerard has noticed you. That's not something you want to happen. This isn't a place for you. You don't want to be here unless you want plenty more like that one," and she nodded at the bruise decorating Connie's cheekbone.
"I've got no other choices."
The dark girl shrugged. "Your funeral. Sonny's at the corner table by the jukebox.
"Thanks."
o0o0o0o0o
Connie found Sonny holding court at his table and sat down in the seat opposite. Sonny was another big man, if not quite the same size as the behemoth that had found her at the bar. He was African-American, with hair that had been relaxed and teased into elaborate curls plastered close to his head and a suit that looked like it was worth five times anything the rest of the men in the room were wearing.
He raised his eyebrows at her as she sat down. "You want something?"
"Jackie sent me, said that you'd take care of me." Connie silently blessed Lula for having the contacts to concoct a plausible story for her.
"I ain't runnin' no rescue service, and you ain't my type. Take a hike."
"Please." She inserted a tremor into her voice. It wasn't hard; she was running on adrenaline and her legs felt like water. Lula's instructions were running through her head. Be vulnerable, be a victim. He knows his own rep and he won't believe that you just felt like a change of employer. But if he thinks you have nothing and nobody else, that he can do whatever he wants and no-one will care, he'll think about it. "My man kicked me out for skimming. I've got debts, and I'm going to lose my apartment. My family cut me off. I just need someone to take care of me. I'm good, I swear."
"How good could you possibly be, little miss Catholic Italian girl? I don't need you. Get gone."
"Let me show you."
He looked at her with a gimlet stare. "Show me, and I'll think about it."
And this was where she prayed that they were ready for her, because Lula had made damned sure that she understood this part before she went in.
"You be sure about this, Connie, 'cause this ain't no dumb thief that thinks he might get lucky. He is gonna to try to hurt you. He is gonna to try to degrade you. If you give him half a chance he is gonna make sure that he scares you so bad that you get sucked in and you don't even think about gettin' out again. Now, I'm askin' you again. Are you sure about this?"
No, Lula, I'm not sure, but I've come this far. No turning back.
She led him out through the passageway to the back door that opened out to the yard and the dumpsters. She opened the door and went to walk out into the night air and the Rangemen that were waiting for her. She never made it that far.
Sonny grabbed her by the hair and back-handed her across the face, hard. Using the fistful of hair he forced her to her knees in front of him. "Time to show me what you got, little girl."
o0o0o0o0o
Tank and Hal were waiting behind the dumpster when they heard the door open. The radio link flared into life, "She's in trouble, get in there."
They both took off with a curse and headed for the open back door. Hal got there first. He punched Sonny hard in the face to make him to let go of her hair, then pulled Connie up and away from him. He whirled and headed for the door with her, leaving Tank to take down Sonny.
Sonny was still reeling from Hal's punch and was no match for Tank. Tank spun him and cuffed him, then dragged him out by a handful of his elaborate hairstyle in much the same way that Sonny had manhandled Connie.
When they got out into the yard, Ranger was there with the SUV waiting for them. Hal sat Connie in the passenger seat and turned to go back to where Sonny was being dragged out by Tank. He came face to face with Ranger, who was standing in his path with an implacable look on his face.
"Sir, I-"
"You what, Hal?"
"I just-"
Ranger continued to stare at him, then he stepped to one side without changing his expression. "He's yours. No marks."
Tank dropped Sonny to the ground and stepped away, wiping the coating of hair product off his hand using his pants leg. "Picked the wrong woman, asshole."
Hal moved in.
o0o0o0o0o
Connie sat in the SUV and shivered as the shock set in and joined the chill of the night air.
Suddenly Tank loomed large in her vision and she nearly wept with gratitude to see his familiar, stoic face. He wrapped a blanket around her, carefully standing in front of her so that he completely blocked her view of the proceedings. She knew what was happening, though. She could hear.
Another black SUV pulled up next to the one that she was sitting in and Hector got out. She watched Hal and Ranger drag Sonny's inert body over to the other SUV and shackle him into the back seat. Tank put a warm hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently before walking over to the other vehicle and getting in next to Sonny. Hector moved to the passenger seat so that Ranger could drive, and then they were gone.
Hal appeared in front of her. He buckled her seat belt for her, then got into the other side and pulled the SUV out of the yard.
He drove to a McDonalds drive-through and ordered a hot chocolate, which he pressed into her hands. "Tell me your address and I'll take you home."
She told him and he drove there, slowly and quietly, giving her time to drink the warm drink and gradually stop shaking.
o0o0o0o0o
When they got there he parked the SUV and got out to come round to her side. He took the empty cup out of her hands and threw it into the back seat, then helped her out of her seat and took her arm to help her walk to her door.
The house was dark and empty, and Hal saw Connie curl up into herself.
"Do you know what we do for Steph when we go to her apartment?" he asked.
"No." Her reply was barely audible.
"We check it for stalkers and bogeymen, make sure it's safe for her to go in. I think it would be best if I check your place too, just to be safe."
He walked in without waiting for an answer, leaving her to stand in the hallway. He walked into the living room and turned all the lights on before waving her in. "Sit, while I check the rest of the house."
He systematically worked through the house, closing curtains, turning on lights, chasing the shadows away. When he got upstairs he pulled out his cell and rang Stephanie. "She's scared but okay," he murmured quietly. "Leave it with me?" Evidently he got the answer he wanted, because he put the phone away and continued to switch on lights on the second floor.
Finally he went downstairs and sat in one of the chairs where he could face Connie. He leaned towards her, resting his elbows on his knees. "Your house is officially free of bogeymen. How do you feel?"
"Weird. Cold. Lonely."
"Then it's good that I'm guarding your castle tonight. You own me now, remember?"
She nodded vacantly, not really concentrating.
"Come on, fair lady. Your bed awaits." He took her hand and pulled her from her chair then took her to the bathroom, where he left her to wash the fake bruising and cosmetics off while he found her a pair of pajamas. Handing them to her around the bathroom door, he then walked away to give her some privacy.
She shuffled down the hall into her bedroom only to find him seated in a chair in the corner of the room.
"I hope you don't mind me moving your furniture around," he said.
"You're staying here?"
"Consider it my knightly vigil."
She was too tired to argue. Crawling into bed she curled up under the covers and slept deeply, without dreams.
o0o0o0o0o
Hal settled into the chair with the ease of someone used to countless surveillance jobs. He watched the sleeping woman; he hoped that he'd done enough to keep the nightmares at bay for her, and that she wouldn't be frightened of him after what she had seen tonight. Taking your personal issues out on skips wasn't part of the job and he knew he'd have to answer to Ranger for it tomorrow. His actions tonight had let Ranger know quite how much of a personal issue Connie Rosolli had become, and he was going to catch hell for it.