Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any money. I'm just playing.
Trial no.9 – part 1
Ranger's cell-phone woke Stephanie again an hour later. She drowsed, only half aware, as he removed the arm that had been wrapped around her middle and reached for the phone on the bedside table.
"Yo."
She caught occasional snatches of the terse conversation but was too sleepy to really be aware of anything except the loss of warmth as he let go of her and got out of the bed.
"Ranger?" she murmured.
Gentle fingers combed through her hair. "Got to go, Babe. Go back to sleep."
Her eyes snapped open. "What? You just-"
He stopped her words abruptly with a kiss. "Keep Connie out of sight until you hear from me or Tank, you hear me?"
Any further protest died on her lips as she realized why he was leaving in the middle of the night. "Be careful."
He nodded and left, buckling his utility belt on as he walked out of her bedroom.
She didn't sleep after he left.
o0o0o0o0o
The following morning Stephanie was fuzzy from lack of sleep but too anxious to rest. It was an odd combination that left her feeling much the same as she had at college when she had stayed awake for two days straight with the aid of caffeine pills to cram for an exam. After all that, she'd still failed.
She hung around her apartment, not knowing quite what to do with herself. She was tired but too antsy to rest. Finally she decided that running searches would at least keep her occupied, and maybe she would hear any news that came through the control room. That, and she could keep herself awake using the high-octane coffee that the guys on monitor duty sometimes drank when they started to get fuzzy round the edges.
She grabbed her purse and went out to the parking lot, where she saw Zero sitting in a black SUV in the corner of the lot. "I'm going into the office for the day, so you're off the hook."
He nodded. "I'll follow you in."
"You don't need to, you know."
"C'mon Bombshell, I have orders. Give me a break."
She stifled a yawn. "Fine. Let's go. Wouldn't want to get you into trouble." She got into her own car and pulled out of the lot.
o0o0o0o0o
The trouble started two streets away from home when the old lady driving in front of her braked hard. Stephanie had to stamp on her own brakes and bring her piece of shit car screeching to a halt. She just missed her, and sat gripping the steering wheel with shaking hands while she tried to start breathing again. Zero stopped behind her in a more orderly fashion. Just as Zero opened the door to get out and come over, the driver behind him leaned on the horn and Stephanie pulled herself together and started moving again.
A couple of minutes later a car pulled out in front of her and she had to swerve hard to miss it. This time she leaned on the horn herself, attracting a raised finger from the other driver as he pulled away. "Asshole. Learn to drive," she muttered as she pulled back into the stream of traffic.
And so it continued. It was like the population of Trenton had forgotten how to drive as soon as she was anywhere near them. She had a series of near misses and she had left half her tires on the road by the time she reached RangeMan.
Zero pulled in next to her and got out of the SUV.
"Did you see what people were doing?" Stephanie asked him as she locked her car up. "It's like the whole of Trenton forgot how to drive this morning."
Zero locked his own vehicle with shaking hands. "Like they forgot how to drive? Jesus, Bombshell, we're lucky you made it here without killing anyone."
o0o0o0o0o
Connie was already hanging round the control room like a wraith when Stephanie walked in.
"What's up?" Stephanie greeted her.
"Nothing. That's exactly the point. Tank says I need to stay in the building but he won't tell me why, just that I'll get more information when it's time. I just hang around here. I did offer to help Ella clean the apartments."
"I bet that went down well."
"Like I'd just offered to adopt her firstborn."
"Yeah, that's Ella. She takes looking after us very personally. You could always use the gym."
"What? On my own?"
"Sure, why not? I do sometimes."
"Yeah, but you're part of the team. I don't know what I am. Possibly a prisoner."
"You're not a prisoner," Stephanie said firmly.
"Then why can't I leave?"
"Because… because… shit, just because, all right?"
Connie's eyes narrowed. "You know something, don't you."
"Of course I don't."
"You do. Are you my friend or not?"
"It's not that simple," Stephanie protested.
"Okay, let's make it simple. I'll tell your mother about your dance at Babylon if you don't tell me."
"You wouldn't."
"I'm a woman on the edge. Try me."
"Bitch."
Connie shrugged.
Stephanie sighed. "You know what? I need a cup of coffee. I need lots of coffee. Let's go to your apartment for coffee."
"But the break room is just-"
"I said, let's go to your room for coffee."
Connie's mouth formed a round 'O' as comprehension arrived. "I'm sure there's a coffee maker in my apartment."
o0o0o0o0o
Connie let Stephanie into the fourth floor apartment that she was using. It was exactly the same as the one that Stephanie had used in the past, so she was able to find the coffee machine straight away. She filled and started it, and fussed around finding mugs.
"Milk. There's no milk."
Connie had followed her to lean against the counter with her arms folded and one hip cocked. "Forget the milk."
"I can't drink coffee without milk."
"Then forget the damn coffee. Tell me what you know."
"No, I really need the coffee." Stephanie could almost hear Connie's teeth grinding.
"Fine," Connie said, "I'll go and get some milk." She pulled a familiar-looking pouch from a drawer and stalked out of the apartment. She returned a few minutes later with a carton of milk, which she slammed onto the counter. "Milk."
"You weren't gone long enough to get that from the break room."
"So help me, if you don't start talking I'm going to shoot you. It's Cal's milk, I just stole it out of his refrigerator, I'll replace it for him later. Now talk."
Stephanie didn't answer, just poured coffee into the mugs and added milk. Finally she walked over to the couch with her mug and sat down staring into nothing. "Ranger's in the wind."
"So? Ranger's always in the wind. What does that have to do with me?"
"He's hunting Gerard," Stephanie said reluctantly, not meeting her eyes.
Connie joined her on the couch. "So what's he going to do when he finds him?" she asked quietly.
"He hasn't said. I haven't asked."
"Well, what do you think he's going to do to him?"
"I don't know. I don't want to know. What I do know is that you need to stay here. For a while, at least."
"Would you?"
"You heard the story of how I broke out of here. Do you remember what happened next?"
They both sat in silence on the couch and stared into space for a long time.
"I don't want this," Connie said finally. "I don't want someone hurt because of me."
Stephanie didn't answer.
o0o0o0o0o
"Searches!" Stephanie announced from out of the blue.
Connie jumped. They had been quiet for so long, just sitting staring into space, that she had almost forgotten that Stephanie was there. "What?"
"Let's go do some searches."
"Why?"
"Because you have nothing to do. Because we need a distraction. And because RangeMan's search programs have to be seen to be believed. You can find out anything about anyone."
Connie thought about this. "Anything?"
"Pretty much."
"About anyone."
"Yup."
Connie took a deep breath and turned to directly face Stephanie. "We are women of the Burg," she said with her best poker face on. "We have a responsibility, a duty even, to make ourselves useful. A Burg woman's hands should never be idle."
"You know, that's just what I was thinking."
"And if, in the process of being helpful, we should happen to accidentally find out things about people we know…"
"It wouldn't be our fault. Not really."
Connie got to her feet. "I couldn't possibly stay at RangeMan, sleeping in one of Ranger's apartments and eating his food, without trying to make myself useful. My goodness, no." She laced her fingers together with her palms facing out and stretched her arms until her finger joints clicked. "Lead me to the search computer."
o0o0o0o0o
Stephanie pulled up an extra chair in the cubby and they both sat in front of the computer monitor. She opened a search program, pulled the pulled the top file from the in-tray and read out the name on the front. "Samuel Williams. Business owner, interested in contracting RangeMan for security services."
"We're going to do actual searches?" Connie asked.
"No, we're going to have the file open on the desk in case anyone comes over to see what we're doing. Now, who shall we look up first?"
"Joyce, it's got to be Joyce."
"Okay. This is the main program. Let's find out what it can tell us about Joyce Barnhart."
Connie typed the name into the search box and ceremoniously hit the enter key. "How long does it normally take?"
"A few minutes. I'll grab us some more coffee. You get ready to close the window if anyone comes in."
When Stephanie got back with the coffee, Connie was trying to smother a smile of glee at what she was reading. Stephanie leaned over her shoulder and started reading.
"Oh my God!"
"Yeah. I didn't even know that humans could get mange," Connie said.
"So how do you think she got it?"
Connie shuddered. "I don't even want to think about it."
Stephanie continued to look over the information on the screen. "Hey look, it's got why she quit the make up counter job. Oh, yes. Joyce, you bad, bad girl. You didn't quit at all. You got fired."
"For offering behind the counter services to a customer's husband. Shame on you, Joyce," Connie sniggered. "Hey look, sexual health clinic records. How the hell do they get this stuff? This is supposed to be confidential."
"Ours is not to reason why. Ours is to find out what Joyce has been up to. Quick, open it."
"Doing it, right now… Oh, look at this. There are no words for this. Joyce got the clap last year and had to provide a list of sexual contacts. And they're all here. My life is now complete." Connie raised her hand and Stephanie high-fived it.
"Check out the list. Jeez, there's dozens of them. How many people do we know on it?" Stephanie asked.
"There's Dickie."
"Old news. She ditched him when he lost all the money. Who else?"
"Vinnie. Suddenly a possible answer to the mange question."
"Eeeew, move on."
"Susan Harris' husband, Elmer… Michelle Wilson's husband, Sam… Josie Barr's husband, Tim… Eddie Kuntz… Hey, didn't you work for him on one of your cases?" Connie asked.
"Yup. Oh my God – Randy Briggs! Eeew!"
"And the list goes… Oh my." Connie fell silent.
"What? What have you… Oh."
"Do you see what I see?" Connie murmured.
"If you're referring to the female section of the list, I do see."
"I didn't know that Joyce did girls too."
"Joyce did Vinnie, Randy Briggs, assorted husbands and possibly a few household pets. Should we be surprised that she doesn't just drive stick?" Stephanie asked.
"I guess. I just always saw Joyce as a man-eater, not a carpet-eater."
Stephanie snorted. "So do we know any of these? Oh look, Irene Lowe. She lives one street over from my mother. She's gorgeous, what would she be doing with someone like Joyce?"
"Lowering her standards, just like the guys were."
They spent another entertaining half hour digging into the secrets of Joyce Barnhart's life before the coffee wore off and Stephanie started to yawn again.
Connie eventually noticed that it had gone quiet and looked round to see her friend slumped over the desk asleep. She got up and found Zero in the break room eating a sandwich. He came back with her and carried Stephanie up to the seventh floor, where they left her to sleep on Ranger's bed.
Connie went back down to the search computer and picked up Samuel Williams' file. Somehow digging up the dirt on neighbors was less fun on her own, plus she didn't want to be caught misusing the search programs without Stephanie there. She might as well make herself useful. She typed Samuel's name in and started the first search.
o0o0o0o0o
Ranger got to the bar from where his informant had made the call within thirty minutes, but he was still too late. Gerard had left fifteen minutes before. He was moving around, not staying in any one place too long. He knew that Ranger was looking for him.
What bothered Ranger was that Gerard was allowing himself to be seen at all. The fact that he had shown up at the bonds office, combined with the way he was popping up all over the place then disappearing again, painted a picture of someone who was testing Ranger's boundaries and seeing how far he could go. Having a sick fuck like Gerard thinking that Ranger's boundaries were free to be tested wasn't something that he could allow to happen.
He knew for a fact that Gerard had been responsible for at least three Jane Does turning up at the morgue last year. He'd quietly let it be known at the station who was responsible, but Gerard was never even arrested, let alone charged. And now the son of a bitch was after one of his people.
If Ranger couldn't put Gerard's leash back on via his brother, he was going to do it personally. Too many people's safety relied on the street knowing not to cross him, the most important one being Stephanie's. Thinking about Gerard within a mile of Stephanie made his fists clench and his teeth grind. Gerard should have thought twice before slipping his brother's leash. He was about to find that Ranger's version was a choke chain.
o0o0o0o0o
Bobby was in charge of the office while Tank and Ranger were working the street looking for Gerard. He was going over the duty roster when he got a call from the front desk.
"Bobby, there's a car pulled up across the street watching the building. The driver's a match for Gerard."
"Sit tight. There's a team on the way down."
He grabbed his gun and ran out of his office into the control room. "Security alert, front desk, now!"
Cal and Woody followed him racing down the stairs to the front desk. As they slammed into the lobby to join the Rangeman standing by the front door, the car across the street peeled out and tore off down the street. The red-haired driver saluted them as he passed.
"That was him," Bobby confirmed. "You two grab a car and follow him. I need to check on the girls and call Ranger."
He sprinted back up the stairs to the control room. One concern was dealt with straight away - Connie was standing at the entrance to the search cubby looking curious.
"Where's Steph?" he barked.
"Seventh floor," she answered calmly.
Bobby went into Ranger's office and grabbed the emergency key for the apartment. He sprinted upstairs and let himself into the apartment, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw Stephanie asleep on top of the covers on the bed.
He left the apartment quietly and ran back down to the control room to call Ranger.
"Rangeman, Gerard's been sighted here at the office."
"Explain."
"Five minutes ago, parked across the street from the front lobby. He waited for us to see him then took off. Cal and Woody are chasing him. Both the women are here in the building and safe."
Zero cut in from the control desk. "Cal and Woody just reported in. He got away; too much of a lead."
"Ranger-"
"I heard. I'll be there in twenty minutes."
o0o0o0o0o
Ranger sat down at his desk and leaned back into the chair facing Tank and Bobby.
"He knows I'm looking for him and he's playing," he said. "He could keep this going for weeks before we get a chance to grab him. Plus, now we know that he's deliberately pushing me, we can assume that Steph's at risk as well. We need to change the game."
"What's the plan?" Tank asked.
"We lose. Or at least we let him think so. I want him to get over-confident. I want him to think he's won, so Connie's going to leave town. For a while at least."
"She know that?"
"Not yet."
"I might be able to help with that," Bobby said. "A fax came in this morning while you were both in the wind. The Atlanta team picked up Georgina Warren last night. They're holding her until we advise how we want her brought back."
"That will do. Send one of the men down by car to pick her up. Tell him to take his time. Connie goes as a chaperone. While she's gone, I want her house emptied and a real estate board put up outside it."
"Hal would be the easiest to release from other duties," Tank said.
"Fine, send him. They can leave tomorrow morning."
"What about her family? They'll probably notice."
"I'll deal with them. Steph will be staying in the building while this goes down too. Get an apartment ready for her in case she wants to use it."
"They're all in use with Connie here."
"Then she can use that one if she wants to. Connie won't be back until Gerard's dealt with anyway."
o0o0o0o0o
Ranger went up to the seventh floor apartment as the daylight started to fail. He had Rex's aquarium under one arm and a large bag of Stephanie's clothes in the other hand. He put the bag down in the living room and carried the aquarium to the bedroom, where he put it down quietly on the floor next to the bed.
He reached out a finger and gently ran it down her arm. "Steph, wake up."
Stephanie cracked her eyes open and saw Rex's aquarium. His bottom was just visible poking from the end of the soup can. She rubbed her eyes sleepily, then sighed and stretched. "Rex? What's going on, Ranger."
"Thought you two might like to come and stay with me for a while."
"Why?" she asked sleepily.
"Some things happened today while you were catching up on your sleep."
"Things?"
"Gerard stopped by to say hi."
"Did you kick his ass?"
"Didn't catch it to kick it," he answered. "I will, but I need your help."
"Okay. What do you need?"
"You out of harm's way."
"Again?" Stephanie whined. "Anyway, he's not after me, he's stalking Connie."
"Maybe, maybe not. He's pulling my tail now, Babe. That means he might come after you just for the hell of it."
"So what happens next?"
Ranger outlined the plan that he had made, watching her face carefully the whole time.
"So he's supposed to think that we're scared," she summed up at the end. "Connie leaves town, I go into hiding and you wait for him to relax thinking he's won."
"That's it. Then we take him down."
"I don't like my part."
"I know, but it's important. If you hide, he'll think we're scared that I can't protect you. We're sending him a signal. You could leave town for a while too, if you prefer."
"No, I'll stay here."
"Right here?" he said carefully.
"Are you asking?"
"I'm offering. You can use Connie's apartment in the building if you prefer."
"I'll stay here."
His face didn't change, but the set of his shoulders softened slightly. "You want to go find Connie and tell her to get ready to leave in the morning?" he asked. "Ella should have dinner ready when you get back."
o0o0o0o0o
Connie was bouncing with excitement despite the early hour as she climbed into the SUV at six the next morning. Hal was a little calmer but still smiling broadly as he loaded their bags into the back of the SUV and checked that they had shackles on board for bringing the skip back with them.
"Road trip!" she beamed. "Finally, I get out of the building. I'm not even going to ask why he's suddenly giving me good jobs to do instead of torturing me. In fact, get in quick, we need to leave before he changes his mind."
"Relax. I've never known Ranger to change his mind. Change plans with new intel, maybe, but not change his mind."
"Same difference, let's leave in case he gets any new intel."
Hal laughed and saluted. "Yes ma'am." He climbed into the driver's side and started the SUV, leaving Connie to tinker with the radio and find something she liked as they pulled out of the garage and headed for the interstate.
o0o0o0o0o
"So tell me about your family," Connie said as the SUV ate up the miles.
"My family all live in Iowa. Mom, Dad, two sisters. My dad's a mechanic. Mom's a nurse. My sister Hannah has a couple of kids. The other one, Lucy, has three. It makes Christmas a lot of fun."
"You see them much?"
"Not as much as I'd like. I take some vacation time and fly home a couple of times a year."
"Do you have anyone in Trenton?"
"No," he said. "Just work. Some of the guys go out now and then, but I never liked going to clubs like they usually do."
"Sounds lonely," she said.
"It was."
o0o0o0o0o
"Your turn. Tell me about your family," he said.
"My family or The Family?"
"Whichever one you want."
"Well, all my family is in New Jersey. Mom and Dad live a few streets over from me. You've met my younger brother, Tony. He has an apartment just round the corner from me and he drops in a lot. We're connected, but small-time. At the edges. Dad and Tony do stuff. I don't ask; I don't want to know. Mom and I don't get involved. At home we're just like any other family. My dad tells bad jokes and eats all the wrong food when my mom's not looking, my mom worries that we aren't eating enough and that I'm not married off yet, and tries to get me to go to church with her on Sundays. Just normal people."
"Is your mom like you?"
"I look a lot like her, but she's Burg to the bone. Never worked, never wanted to. Just lived for us. I wish I could cook like her sometimes, but it doesn't seem worth cooking properly all the time just for me."
o0o0o0o0o
Connie's eyelids were drooping with the unchanging view of the blacktop and the warm interior of the SUV.
"Tired?" he asked.
She nodded. "Hmmm."
"Tip your seat right back and take your shoes off."
She complied, kicking her sneakers off into the foot-well and wiggling her toes a little.
"Now pass your feet over here."
"What?"
Without taking his eyes off the road, Hal leaned over and reached an arm into the passenger foot-well. He pulled her legs over towards him and settled her feet into his lap. "Now close your eyes."
She wadded up a sweater behind her head and shifted round in her seat to get comfortable. Finally she drifted off to sleep listening to the purr of the engine and feeling the gentle pressure of his hand holding her feet in his lap.
o0o0o0o0o
"Con. Wake up, sweetheart. Time to eat."
"Huh?"
"Food."
She didn't open her eyes. "Not moving. Comfortable."
Hal scraped a fingernail up her left instep.
She yanked her feet away with a squeal of laughter. "Get off!"
"Ticklish. I'll remember that."
"Swine."
"You want this swine to feed you or not?" he asked.
She gave a theatrical sigh. "Well, since I'm awake now…"
"Drama queen. Come on."
They were parked outside a small roadside diner. When they got inside Hal slumped into a chair and rubbed his eyes with both hands.
Connie looked at him with concern. "You look tired."
"I'm fine."
"No. I'll drive after lunch."
"Thanks."
o0o0o0o0o
Connie found that the long straight roads soon got monotonous for someone used to the urban bustle of Trenton.
"Talk to me," she said.
"What about?"
"Anything."
"Now you've put it like that, I don't know what to say."
"I don't mind what. I just don't want to drift off. And I like the sound of your voice. Tell me your best childhood memory, or what your favorite movie is. Anything. Just talk to me."
"Tell you something that will help you stay awake?"
"Yeah."
"I love you."
A car horn blared next to them as she let the SUV drift across into the next lane.
"Con! Watch the road!"
o0o0o0o0o
"You sure you're okay to keep driving?" he asked her.
"I'm sure. Unless you've got any other surprises in store for me. Promise to tell me to pull over first next time?"
"I definitely promise. You only just missed that car."
o0o0o0o0o
"Me too," she said, a while later.
"What?"
"What you said. Me too. I love you too."
"Thank God," he said. "I thought maybe you were so horrified that the only choice was to kill us both."
"No you didn't."
"Okay, maybe not. You've got to admit, though, that was one hell of a reaction."
"Just wait till you see my father's."
"I have to meet your father?" he said in horrified tones. "We need to switch seats. It's my turn to try and kill us both."
o0o00o0o0o
Connie got drowsy after a couple of hours so they swapped seats again and Hal took over the driving.
"So what do we do?" she asked, back with her feet in his lap and the seat tipped back.
"About what?"
"Idiot." She waved a hand at his shoulder, unable to reach it to swat it. "About us."
"We wait till the ten jobs and your obligation to Ranger are over, then we come out."
"You make it sound like we're both gay or something."
"You got a better phrase? I'm open to suggestions."
"Okay, we'll run with coming out. I'll save my suggestions for later, at the hotel." She squinted at the speedometer. " Hey, why have we speeded up? I thought we weren't in a hurry?"