Better Late Than Never: Chapter 9
"Actually, no, I don't remember you, but that doesn't necessarily mean I can't help you," Gage replied, adding, "Can you tell me why I should remember you?"
"We met Saturday night at the Sweet 16 party at the governor's mansion. My boyfriend and I got into some trouble and you and your partner gave us rides home. You were really kind and you said if I ever needed anything to call you at Company B headquarters. Remember?" Juliet said hopefully.
"Juliet was it?"
"Yes, Juliet Davis. My boyfriend's name is Mark Fitzgerald."
"Juliet, I got hurt at work a few days ago and since then I've had trouble remembering things that happened in the recent past. I don't remember you or your boyfriend, but I would still like to know why you called me today. I'd like to help if I can," Gage explained, telling her as much of the truth as he figured she needed to know. Heck, it was about all he knew himself.
"Well, Mark and his friend, Marty, would like to meet with you at the Starbucks near Liberty High School. Do you know where that is?"
"I think so. Juliet, can you tell me what this is about?"
"They want to explain everything in person. Can I tell them to expect you soon?"
"Yes, I should be there in about twenty minutes," Gage stated.
"Ranger Gage?"
"Yes, Juliet."
"Will your partner be with you?"
"She's not here right now, but I'll call her and ask her to meet us there. I'm on my way, Juliet. Don't worry, OK?" Gage assured her.
"OK, I'll see you soon. Thank you, Ranger Gage," Juliet replied, snapping her phone shut and standing up. "He said he'll be here in about twenty minutes."
"That's great, honey. Thanks for doing this," Mark smiled, giving her a hug. Turning to his friend, he said, "I'm going to get a cup of coffee while we wait. Do you want something?"
"No, thanks, but I'll come in with you," Marty replied, not wanting to be alone at the table with Juliet.
-----
Gage stood up from his desk and reached into his top drawer expecting to find his department-issued Colt .45 pistol, but it wasn't there. For a second he started to panic, but then he remembered that Walker said his gun had been stolen by whoever knocked him out.
Like any peace officer, he felt a kind of kinship with his weapon and the Colt had been his favorite. He missed it and he wanted it back. Like a jealous lover, he thought of someone else carrying his gun and his blood boiled.
Turns out you stole more than my gun, but whatever it takes, I'm going to get everything back that you took from me. Everything, Gage silently promised his unknown assailant.
Just then his new cell phone buzzed and chirped inside his pocket.
"Hey, Syd, I was just going to call you," Gage told his partner.
"OK, you first. What were you going to call me about?"
"I just talked to a Juliet Davis who said I met her Saturday night at the governor's mansion. Apparently, her boyfriend, a guy named Mark Fitzgerald, wants me to meet him and another friend of his at the Starbucks near Liberty High School. I told her I'd be there in twenty minutes. Any chance you can meet me there?"
"Actually, Walker and I are just pulling into the lot at headquarters now, so you and I could probably ride over there together. I'll just need to check with Walker to see if he needs me to help him follow up on the information we got from Mr. Chen and Mai Lee," Sydney informed him.
Gage heard a muffled version of Walker's voice say something to Sydney, followed by Sydney telling him, "I'm cleared for take-off. I'll meet you at your car in five, OK?"
"Sounds great. Bye," he concluded, pocketing his phone and heading for the door.
-----
On the way to Starbucks, Sydney filled Gage in on what she and Walker had learned from Mr. Chen and Mai Lee.
"So, they think the one that hit me is named Tex something-or-other, which means Tex is probably the one who has my gun, too," Gage said.
"Probably," Sydney agreed, glancing at her partner and noticing that he was gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles were white.
Everything in her wanted to reach out to him, to tell him she understood, not only as the woman who loved him but also as a Ranger. She knew how she would feel knowing that her weapon was out there somewhere in the hands of a criminal who was probably all too willing to use it, but she couldn't imagine how she would feel if she had no memory of how she lost it, no clue as to who took it. No, she decided, she really didn't understand what Gage was going through at all, and it broke her heart.
"What's the matter, Syd? You look like you lost your last friend," Gage observed.
"It's nothing. I'm OK. I was actually just trying to imagine what you're going through and I really can't," she admitted, adding, "Besides, I've still got at least one friend as long as I have you, right?" She smiled and punched him gently in the arm.
Gage didn't answer her right away. Instead, he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, like he did when he was nervous.
"Right, Gage?" Sydney pushed, an uneasy feeling creeping into her gut.
"Syd, I hate feeling like I'm missing something, like somebody told a joke and I'm the only one who doesn't get it. But I could almost live with that if I didn't keep getting the impression that I'm letting you down somehow. Syd, what did I do, or not do, that keeps upsetting you? Did we have a fight that I forgot about? Whatever it was, I'm sorry, truly sorry," he confessed, fighting a lump in his throat.
Sydney was stunned. She thought she'd done such a good job of hiding her disappointment, but she should have known that he would see through her; he always had. Now he was blaming himself for her pain and she couldn't live with that.
"No, Gage, we didn't have a fight and you didn't do anything wrong. You've never let me down, not ever. I'm the one who should apologize for making you feel guilty for something you have no control over, even though I never intended to make you feel that way," Sydney consoled him.
He turned the car into the Starbucks parking lot, found a spot near the outdoor tables and turned off the engine before he looked at her again.
"I want to remember, Syd. I'd give anything to remember. Please believe that," he begged.
"I do believe that, Gage. And for the record, I'd give anything, too," she assured him.
As they exited the car, a pretty blond girl in her mid-teens approached them. Her long hair danced on the stiff autumn breeze and when she smiled her blue eyes sparkled.
"Hello, Ranger Gage, Ranger Cooke. It's good to see you again," she said, extending her hand first to Gage and then to Sydney.
"Hello, Juliet. It's good to see you, too, but I am surprised to see you again so soon," Sydney told her.
"I know what you mean. I was pretty amazed myself when Mark asked me to call you, Ranger Gage," she replied, leading them toward the table where she had been sitting. "I'll just go inside and get the boys."
"Any idea what this is all about?" Sydney asked Gage, who shrugged and told her what Juliet had said about explaining in person.
Inside the coffee shop, Marty's jaw dropped as he watched the tall blond Ranger get out of the silver sedan and shake hands with Juliet. He wasn't wearing a tuxedo and he looked bigger now that he wasn't passed out cold on the floor, but there was no doubt he was the same cop Tex had whacked, the same one whose gun was in his backpack right now.
He looked toward the back door, trying to decide if he should run for it, but before he could take the first step, he saw Juliet motioning to them to come outside.
"Hey, they're here, man. Let's go get this over with," Mark said, tugging on Marty's sleeve.
"Yeah, right. I'm coming," Marty answered flatly, heaving his backpack up on his shoulder. It might as well have weighed a thousand pounds.
"Ranger Gage, this is my boyfriend, Mark Fitzgerald and his friend, Marty Hooper," Juliet announced, touching Mark's arm and then pointing toward Marty.
Gage shook hands with both boys. Turning to Mark, he explained, "I don't actually remember you. I know that sounds strange, but I was injured a few days ago and lost some of my memory, including Saturday night. But, it's nice meeting you again."
"Same here. I'm sorry to hear that you were hurt," Mark said.
Marty couldn't believe his ears. The cop lost his memory? Maybe his luck wasn't all bad after all.
"Why did you want to see me, Mark?" Gage asked.
"Well, it was actually Marty who…uh, Marty, why don't you just show him what you have?" Mark stammered.
"It's in here," Marty whispered as he looked around to make sure no one was watching them. He hoisted the backpack up onto the table, opened the zipper and took two steps back. "Have a look."
Gage stepped forward, peered into the open pocket and froze, unable to believe his eyes. There, between two notebooks and a copy of Roget's Thesaurus, was a Colt .45 pistol that looked exactly like his.
"Hey, Marty, you got a pencil or a pen in here somewhere I can borrow?" Gage asked, trying to sound casual even though his heart was racing a mile a minute.
"Yeah, small pocket in front," he directed.
"Juliet, I need you to go inside and ask for a paper bag, just a bag with nothing in it," Gage instructed.
"Gage, what have you got there?" Sydney finally asked, as she watched Juliet go inside again.
He motioned silently for her to come and see for herself.
"I don't believe it!" Sydney exclaimed after looking in the backpack.
"Me neither, but let's not get too excited until we get it back to headquarters and make sure it's what we think it is," he cautioned.
"Here's the bag," Juliet said, handing him a small square brown paper sack with a Starbuck's logo on it.
Using the pencil he got from the front pocket, Gage lifted the weapon out of the backpack by the trigger guard and dropped it into the paper bag in his other hand. The bag was too small for the gun, leaving part of the barrel sticking out, but it still allowed him to carry the weapon without destroying any fingerprints that might be on it.
"Syd, would you please put this in the car while I have a word with the kids?" Gage requested.
"Sure thing. Be right back," Sydney answered.
"Marty, where did you get that gun?" Gage queried, trying to keep his tone light. The kid had cooperated fully so far. The last thing Gage wanted was to scare him into silence.
"I found it, but I can't tell you where," Marty hedged, his eyes looking everywhere but at Gage.
"Can't or won't? Think before you answer, Marty, because a big part of your future could depend on how you handle this. Up to now, you've done the right thing by turning the gun in to law enforcement, so keep on doing the right thing and tell me where you found it."
Marty looked at Mark, sending him a silent plea for help, but his buddy just shrugged. He was on his own.
"I thought if you turned in a gun, you could do it with no questions asked," Marty protested.
"I'm confused, Marty. If you found this gun and had nothing whatsoever to do with how it went missing in the first place, then it seems to me that you would probably be anxious to tell the story, not just to me, but to anyone who would listen. I mean what's cooler than finding a real gun, right? But you don't seem to want to tell that story. So, you can see why I'm confused, can't you, Marty?"
"Please, Marty, if you know something, you should tell them," Mark admonished him, adding, "I know the gun isn't yours and I know you would never do anything on purpose to hurt somebody. Don't get yourself into trouble for something your…"
"Shut up, Mark!" Marty barked, stopping Mark in mid sentence. "Just shut up!"
"Take it easy, Marty," Gage said, soothingly. "I'm just trying to get some answers so I can fill in all the blanks on the stack of paperwork I have to fill out on a found weapon. I hate paperwork, man, and my boss hates it when I leave blanks on the page. If he finds blanks, then I have to do it over and, did I mention I hate paperwork? So help me out, here, would you?" He knew Marty was probably protecting someone, so he was trying to appeal to his need to be the hero. It didn't work.
"I found that gun and you can't prove I didn't. I said all I'm going to say. I'm outta here," Marty snapped, grabbing his backpack and heading across the parking lot.
Sydney was on her way back from the car when she saw Marty leaving. She made eye contact with Gage, raised her eyebrows in a questioning glance and pointed at Marty.
"You want me to stop him?" she asked.
"No, he's not going to tell us anything. Besides, we know his first and last name and the school he goes to. He won't be hard to find if we need him," Gage responded.
Turning to Juliet and Mark, Gage said, "I can't tell you how much we appreciate your help with this."
"I don't suppose you could tell my dad what a big help we were, so maybe he'll lift my punishment from Saturday night, could you?"
"That depends on what you did Saturday night," Gage answered.
"Never mind. I'd rather just suffer the grounding than have to hear another lecture," Mark laughed. Noting Gage's confused look, he added, "Let's just say that I thought a lot about what you said and you were absolutely right; Juliet is worth waiting for." He smiled at Juliet, who gave him a kiss on the cheek as he put an arm around her shoulders.
"I said that?" Gage wondered.
"Not in so many words, but that was the message, and I got it, loud and clear."
"Well, good, I guess. Thanks again," Gage said, shaking both their hands one last time. "And if you ever need anything…"
"We'll call you," Juliet broke in, waving to both Rangers as they headed back to their car.
End Chapter 9.