Title: Saying Goodbye

Author: Robin

Disclaimer: They are JE's. If I owned them they probably wouldn't so much fun to play with.

Rating: R

Chapter 5

Ranger

My shoulders were slumped under an invisible weight as I stepped from the garishly orange foyer onto the elevator. I felt as if I'd aged a decade over the last day. It was funny what grief could do to you. When my sister Celia called to tell me the news, it was like I'd been sucker punched in the solar plexus. I hadn't felt like myself since. Except when Stephanie put her arms around me. In fact, the only time I hadn't felt like I'd just jumped from a Cessna without a chute, free-falling with the ground rushing up to meet me, was when I was with her, touching her. The rest of the time I'd been adrift.

It was a terrifying feeling for a man who had long ago learned to keep a tight rein on his emotions. Overwhelming. But I hadn't seen this coming and I hadn't felt like this since I was fifteen-years-old. I hated to admit that I was glad that Stephanie offered to come with me. She was always a bright spot in my dark life, but right now I needed her to be my rock.

The elevator door slid open on the third floor and silence greeted me as I stepped out. Most of the men were focused on their work, heads down, but a few looked up as I passed, nodding in greeting. They didn't fool me for a second. I knew the moment I was behind closed doors they'd be gossiping like the blue-haired ladies down at Grandma Mazur's hair dresser. I'd become an infrequent visitor to this office lately and there was enough turn-over in staff that to some men I was only a name that was whispered when management's back was turned.

I scanned the control room with a sharp eye, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The reports Marco had been sending to me about this office over the last six months hadn't been good. One major operation had gone south just last week, the latest in a series of SNAFU-ed ops. Some were minor – a break in on an account here, an elusive FTA there. But this last big op had been a government contract and in addition to losing the six-figure pay check, it probably cost Rangeman Miami future jobs with that agency. I wasn't sure if it was coincidence, corporate sabotage or just plain incompetence, but any which way, it needed to be dealt with. At least it would give me something else to worry about while I was here.

I braced myself as I walked into Marco's office, knowing what to expect. He'd redecorated about three months ago, just for fun. That was the thing about Marco, he was always up for fun. But when it came to running the business, he had his serious side and normally did an exceptional job.

Marco was speaking on the telephone when I came in and nodded his head absently. I took a seat on the god-awful red couch while he wrapped up and wondered, not for the first time, how dreary the world must look to him if this was what looked good.

We both stood when he hung up the phone and he came around the desk to greet me, clasping hands and almost hugging, but not quite. The men in our family had never been particularly affectionate with one another, though Marco and I were about as close as brothers get.

Still, I knew better than to bring up my father. We'd covered this ground more than once and I wasn't in the mood to have it out right now. We'd agreed to disagree and I had no illusions that recent events had changed anything. Papa had been dead to Marco for a long time now.

Since there was no sense standing around awkwardly trying to ignore the pink elephant in the corner – though in this room it would fit right in – I got right down to business. "What the fuck's been going on down here, big brother?"

"Wish I had a clue. I'm ruling out the possibility of a mole. All communications are being recorded – internal and external. I've rerun the rudimentary background checks on everyone, but I need to do some more in-depth searches, I just haven't had the time. I don't know who to trust, so I didn't want to bring anyone else in on it at this point. I could use some outside help, maybe some people you trust from one of the other offices. So far I haven't seen anything remotely out of the ordinary, but I've got a bad feeling. Something's off."

I nodded, agreeing with him that there had just been one too many "accidents" for it to be accidental. "I've got someone with me who might be able to help and I can pull in another man or two if we need it. First off, I'll look over what you've got and also the Op Reports for the botched jobs. You haven't made your suspicions known to the men?"

"No, but they're not stupid. I've tightened things up a bit, increased security, randomly rotating duty posts… the usual. I floated a rumor that I think it is some kind of external job, but I'm sure there are some that have the same suspicions I do. Whoever it is would be foolish to not be on their guard. And most of our guys are good. They're going to know how to avoid detection."

"Do you have any one in mind? Anywhere you think we should start?"

"Not really. Some of the long-term guys I'd trust with my life, in fact I have. Jack, Adam and Tonka have been with us forever, I hate to even doubt them. Problem is I can't get a fix on the motive. Unless this person just wants us out of business, period. The jobs that have been sabotaged have all been so different.

"Still, the DEA job hurt," Marco ran a hand over his hair. "I lost a good man in the raid and could have lost the whole team. They knew we were coming, little brother. It's going to be ugly when I find out who's behind this."

The intercom on Marco's shiny green desk buzzed and he pressed the button, "Go."

Whoever was on duty at the Control Center spoke, "Ranger's guest is asking to be directed to his location, sir."

Marco cocked an eyebrow at me – a shared genetic trait that could be damned annoying when I was on the receiving end of it.

I answered, "That's fine. Let her know where I am."

"Yes, sir," the voice responded and Marco released the button.

"Her?" Marco asked in that tone of voice siblings use to really irritate one another. Bastard. I should have known he was going to give me a hard time about her.

"This is new. Anyone I know?"

"Well, since she's not a stripper and doesn't have aspirations of breaking into the adult film industry, I doubt it."

"Funny."

I gave him a blank look, "I'm a funny guy."

"Since when?" he asked, raising that damned eyebrow again.

He was still ribbing me about vows of celibacy and how happy he was to find out I was actually interested in the opposite sex when there was a knock on the door. Marco called, "Come in," and the golden retriever on two legs, Buddy, opened the door to let Stephanie in. I mentally cringed. I'd meant to inform Control that she had full security clearance, meaning she didn't need to be escorted. Having a babysitter for no good reason was sure to put her in a mood.

Surprisingly enough, she was smiling as she entered though the color on the walls stopped her cold. I completely understood how she could be distracted. As it was, I was only able to ignore it by employing the torture resistance training I'd had as a Ranger.

"Babe," I said, amused by the vacant look on her face.

"Hi," she said, shaking her head slightly and focusing on me. A shy smile curved her lips, "Wow. I think I was suffering from hysterical blindness there for a minute."

I smiled then, feeling my mood lighten for the first time since I'd left her a short while ago. I pulled her toward me, enjoying the way she fit against my side wrapping my arm around her, sending Marco a clear message with my possessive gesture. It said, 'Hands off. Stephanie Plum's mine.'

I took in their reactions as I made the introductions. On Stephanie's part I detected nervous curiosity, but Marco was eyeing her like his next meal. Naturally, Stephanie looked beautiful and I should have known better than to introduce them; Marco made Lester look like a choir boy. But, I saw the mischievous glint in his eyes as he took Stephanie's hands in his, telling me that he was more interested in pushing my buttons than anything else. He pulled her close for a two cheek kiss as he turn on the Latin-lover charm that had captivated more than a few women over the years. And I didn't miss that he used her full name when he greeted her. The sneak. I'd never told him that.

"Ranger has told me absolutely nothing about you," Marco said, still holding her hands in his.

"I'm completely shocked," she replied with teasing sarcasm, her own innate charm kicking in. Stephanie shot me a mock accusing glare and I shrugged in reply, trying to remain nonchalant. The fact that Marco was touching her was messing with my calm. I willed myself to relax and resisted the urge to pull her back to me. Marco was testing me and Stephanie had no way of knowing that when we were younger, Marco and I had been fiercely competitive over women. In fact, Rachel was one of the few who had favored me, and of course that hadn't worked out exactly as I'd planned. Marco had an ease with people, a charisma, that I never managed. I'd always been the quiet one which generally put women off.

Of course, while I was wondering if I need to be worried about Stephanie falling prey to Marco's wiles, she was wondering if he was gay.

I burst into laughter. God, she never disappointed.