I'd like to give a quick thank you all of my wonderful early reviewers. I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far and I hope you continue too.

"Te Amo"

Chapter 2

Pov- Julie

I woke up stiff and sore all over. My body complained as I pushed myself to a seated position. I knew I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep so I stumbled over to my kitchen counter and grabbed my phone. I speed dialed Bobby and he answered on the first ring.

"What's up Jewels?" He asked. "You ok?"

"Can I take a shower?" I asked, afraid for the bandages on my side. "And I need something for the pain, I can't stand up straight." The cuts on my side had scabbed overnight and I knew I'd already pulled a few of them back open.

"Come down to three." He said. "I'll give you something for the pain and you can shower here. I'll re-wrap them when you're done."

I agreed and moved into my own bathroom to get ready. I looked a mess. I'd fallen asleep with my hair wet and pinned up so it was sticking out all over the place. I had a good bruise going on my jaw where Michael's man had gotten in a lucky shot. I did what damage control I could on my hair and tied it back until I could shower down stairs. I brushed my teeth and grabbed a clean set of clothes.

Bobby was waiting for me and he peeled away the wraps he'd put on the night before. The wound didn't look nearly as red today, but it was going to take time to re-grow the layers of skin I'd scraped off. I waved him off when he tried to touch the mark on my cheek and insured him that it didn't sting half as bad as the road burn.

"Alright, alright." He relented. "Go shower."

The warm water felt good on my skin but stung on my injury so I didn't stay in long. I climbed out, brushed out my hair and left it to air dry. I pulled on my clothes, which turned into a real chore as I couldn't use my left arm to help clip my bra. I left my shirt off since Bobby would need to see my side anyway.

I hoped up on the exam table and lay down on my side so Bobby could get at my road burn.

"How's it feel?" He asked as he started rubbing more salve on it.

I flinched when he got to one of the cut's I'd pulled open. "Fine, for the most part. Those pain killers you gave me helped a lot."

"Your Dad stopped by after you'd gone to bed." He told me. "I told him you were fine and he should let you sleep."

"Thanks." I said. "He worries a lot."

Bobby smiled at me. "I know that bothers you sometimes, but remember that he loves you. He just doesn't want to see anything happen to you."

"I know."

"You know something else?" Bobby said leaning forward like he was going to tell me a secret. "He's actually very proud that you're doing so well with your training. He was so excited the day you asked to move up here."

"Really?"

He nodded. "Yep, I know you two haven't always been the closest, but he's really trying to make up for not being around when you were little."

"I never blamed him for not being there." I said. "I know he and my mom weren't planning on having any kids when they met."

"It's a good thing they did." Bobby said. "Or your dad never would have gotten any daughters."

Bobby and I talked while he worked on my side. I loved talking to Bobby, he always helped me feel better. He wasn't nearly as emotionally constipated as the rest of my Dad's core team. True, he had a lot of the same military training, but he was also a medic. I figured it was his experience with injured solders that helped him talk about things like his emotions and fears. It made him a good listener too. When you've seen the very worst of mankind, helping me with my small problems was probably a piece of cake.

He finished cleaning my side and re-bandaged it before helping me get into my black RangeMan shirt. "Thanks Uncle Bobby."

"No problem Niña." He kissed the side of my head. "Your Dad's around here somewhere." He said. "He'll want to see for himself that you're ok. And would you send Shilo to me when you see her. I'd like to look at her hip again."

I got back onto the elevator and hit the button for four. I'd left my gun upstairs and needed to grab some of my things. When I stepped off the elevator, I found my dad and Tank in the hall each carrying a pair of dark green bags.

"Are those Shilo's?" I asked.

Tank nodded, "Yep."

"Would you bring them in for us?" Ranger asked, looking me over. "We were about to call Ella down, Bobby said we should let Shilo sleep." I saw his eye's land on the bruise on my cheek.

"I'm fine Ranger." I promised, standing on my toes so I could land a kiss on his cheek. "Bobby said my road burn already looks better too." I took one of the bag's from him. "You should watch out for Steph though, she wasn't happy that no one called her when Razor got hurt last night."

He had the decency to look ashamed for a moment. "She already laid into me for that one." He confessed.

I took his other bag and nodded for him to open the door. Dad and the core team were the only ones who carried master keys. He unlocked the door and I stepped inside the still dark room. It was only 8:30 so I couldn't blame her for still being asleep after our long night. I wish I was.

Shilo was asleep on her bed, lying on her stomach with the blanket pulled up almost over her head. I caught a look at her face as I set the first two bag's down by the end of her bed. She looked peaceful, curled into her pillow, her dark hair spilled out around her head in little curls. I went back to get the next two bag trying to stay quiet so I wouldn't wake her up.

I set the new bags down, not expecting the last one to shift or the bang it made against the floor. Shilo jumped at the noise and flew into a sitting position, drawing a knife from the folds of her bed, a dark look on her face. I jumped back, pulling on my side and gasped at the pain.

Dad and Tank were at my side a moment later and we all froze taking in the seen around us. Shilo realized who had startled her and dropped the knife she was holding onto the bed. "Sorry." She said quickly, glancing around the room, like she'd forgotten where she was. Probably had giving that it was her first night here.

I flushed. "Um Shlio?" I said softly. She glanced over at me and met my eye. My eyes dropped to her bare chest on their own and I couldn't help but noticed that she had great boobs. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I made a mental note that, except for a silver chain around her neck, she liked to sleep naked. I bit down on my lip to keep from mentioning how much I liked the color of her hair against her skin.

"Shit." Shilo said as she realized her sheet had fallen away. She blushed as she snatched her sheet back up and once her chest was covered, I was able to look away. Ranger and Tank had retreated to the doorway, to give her some privacy. I hadn't noticed them leave.

"We're sorry to have startled you Miss Lowry." Ranger called in from the hall. "Julie was just bringing your bag's in for us."

She nodded that she had heard, but made no move to respond. She'd locked eye's on me, and we stood there for a moment. Her mouth turned up at the side in a mischievous grin and in a lower voice, Ranger and Tank wouldn't hear she asked. "See something you like?"

I knew my face had given away my answer before I was able to hide it and the blush on my cheeks darkened. I took a step towards the door. "Sorry I startled you." I apologized again. "Um," I looked for something to say so I could make my escape. I knew there was still a blush on my cheeks, but I hoped my darker skin would hide it so she wouldn't see the affect she had on me. "Bobby would like to see you once you're dressed." I said inching backwards again. "He wants to look at your hip again."

She nodded. "Alright."

I made my escape then, backing out of the room and shutting the door. Ranger and Tank were both still there. If I hadn't been so worried that they would see the flush on my face I might have thought there uncomfortable looks were funny. It took a lot to startle my dad or the guys on his team and I guess neither one had suspected Shilo to be naked and armed.

"Were having a meeting, on five, at 0930," Ranger said. "I'll let Bobby know to inform Shilo."

I nodded. "You want me there?"

"Yes, we'll go over what happened last night."

"I'll be there." I made to move past them to my own room, still needing to get my gun, but also wanting a moment alone to collect my thoughts. No such luck. Ranger told Tank he'd meet him upstairs and followed me in.

I stopped in the kitchen and waited for him to say whatever it was he needed to say. Probably going to tell me off for trying to stop Michael last night alone. I deserved it; that had been a stupid move. No wonder he wouldn't give me field work yet.

"Julie," He started still looking uncomfortable. "I don't have to remind you to keep your relationship with Miss Lowry professional do I?" He asked.

I knew he'd see the surprise in my eyes. I hadn't been expecting that to be his question. I should have known he'd pick up on my odd behavior, he never missed things like that. Or maybe he'd overheard Shilo's question.

"Of course not Dad." I said.

He nodded. "Alright, I just wanted to mention it. You know I've never judged you for your choice, but she's only here for a short time. I don't want you to get hurt."

I didn't mention that it already hurt to think of her leaving. Even if nothing else happened between us, I considered her a friend and I would be sad when she went back home.

"I know."

He laid a kiss on the top of my head and let himself out. I took my time getting my gun and picking at some food I had in my room. I heard the door across the hall open and soft footsteps as Shilo made her way to the elevator and at 9:20 I made my way downstairs to the meeting.

Pov- Shilo

Great job dumb ass, I berated myself as Julie hurried out of my room. Pull a knife on the bosses kid and scare the crap out of everyone, freaking brilliant. I picked up my hunting knife and tucked it back in its sheath before returning it to its place under my pillow.

I stood up slowly, wincing as my hip protested. The swelling had gone down, but the bruise was nice and black. I shivered in the morning chill from my open window and started digging through the bag's Julie had brought in, looking for my clothes. I hadn't been able to sleep in the things Julie had let me borrow the night before.

The first bag was all of my work gear, which explained the noise that had woken me up. More of my knife collection, a couple of handguns, and my own Kevlar vest. I found clothes in the next bag, pulling on a fresh set of panties and black jeans. I didn't have any black tops so I'd have to wait for my set of RangeMan clothes. I settled on a dark purple blouse that buttoned in the front.

I brushed my hair and my teeth quickly before peeking into the hall. No one was there so I snuck into the elevator, hopping I could at least make it back to the clinic without embarrassing myself any further.

The elevator gave me a moment to think and even though this morning had been a disaster, I was feeling fairly smug at how easily I'd affected Julie. I'd kept my sexual orientation a secret from the moment I'd known I wasn't attracted to men. I'd never told Col. Lowry and I'd certainly never mentioned it around any of the solders I'd worked with. The only one who knew was Col. Lowry's youngest boy Adam.

Adam was my favorite of Col. Lowery's sons. They all excepted me as there little sister, but I'd connected with Adam almost immediately. Probably because, like me, Adam hadn't wanted to be military. I'd been the only one to speak up in his defense when Adam announced he wasn't going to join the army, in favor of moving to California on his own and excepting a scholarship he'd earned to a culinary school there.

My own experience as a mostly closeted Lesbian did only one thing for me. It gave me great Gaydar. I'd had my suspicions last night that Julie and I might play for the same team. After the blush she'd tried to hide this morning, I was almost positive.

"Good morning Shilo." Bobby greeted me with a big smile as I knocked on the doorway to the clinic and let myself in.

"Morning." I said.

He nodded over to the same table I'd used last night and had me sit down. He must have noticed my trouble getting settled because when he stopped at my side he held out a pair of Tylenol and a small glass of water.

"You're a saint." I said tossing the pills back fast.

He grinned at that. "I try my best."

He started with my arm, taking of the bandages and whipping the cuts clean. They had scabbed overnight and already looked better. "You won't have to wrap these anymore, if you don't want too." He said. "I'd just take it easy for the next day or two so you don't pull them open."

I nodded. "Alright."

"How's your hip feeling?" He asked, motioning for me to lay back.

He moved up the side of my shirt and pressed on the edges of the bruise. I managed not to flinch until he pressed on the center.

"Sorry." He said, when I pulled back.

"It was better until you touched it." I said sarcastically.

He laughed. "That reminds me of the joke where the guy walks into the doctor's office and says 'Doc, it hurts when I do this.'"

"Then don't do that." I said, finishing the lame joke.

He chuckled again. "It looks fine." He declared. "I prescribe a hot shower and no extraneous exercise until the bruise starts to fade. I'll make sure there's some more Advil up in your room."

"Thanks." I said climbing off the table, glad that the pain pills were already helping.

"Feel free to come back if it starts to bother you." He said adding. "Or if you want someone to talk to." I smiled at his offer and he continued. "Now you should go upstairs and clean up. Ranger wants you in the meeting this morning on five."

"What time?" I asked, standing up, glad to see that my side didn't hurt to bad anymore.

"9:30, you can ask anyone on the floor what room to go to, they'll all point you in the right direction."

I hurried up to my room and started the shower. The warm water was heaven on my sore muscles. I forced myself out, before I could get to relaxed by the water. I didn't want to risk being late to my first meeting and ruing the 'great' impression I'd already made this morning.

I stepped into the bedroom wrapped in a towel and an older woman was standing near the bed laying out clothes.

"Hello?" I asked, stopping a few yards from her.

She turned to face me with a warm smile. "Good morning Shilo." She said. She introduced herself as Ella the buildings caregiver and motioned to the pile of black clothes she'd brought in for me.

"I had to guess your size, but I think I got it right." She said, holding out a set of RangeMan clothes. "Go try these on and I'll see how they fit."

I took the clothes and backed into the bathroom. The uniform was solid black, like everyone else's straight down to a set of black panties and a black bra, both embroidered with the word RangeMan in black thread. I slid on the panties and was impressed that both the black cargo pants and the v-neck shirt fit me perfectly. The cargo's hung low and the shirt was tight so just a slit of skin showed when I moved. It was flirty without being too much.

I brushed out my hair and let it hang loose to dry before adding a swipe of bright green eyeliner to my top lids. I'd wear the uniform because Ranger would expect it, but that wasn't going to stop me from adding a dash of color for myself.

I stepped out of the bathroom and Ella gave me her seal of approval. "You look very nice." She said. "But, you won't be able to wear that charm in the field." She said pointing to the pendant, I always wore. The chain was silver and just long enough that I could pull it over my head without having to unclip it.

I nodded along although I'd never take it off unless directly ordered too. Ella showed me the black boot's she'd brought in along with a drawer full of black socks and more black panties. She'd left a covered plate on the counter in my kitchen and promised I'd like it.

Once she let herself out I finished getting dressed, adding a knife to my boot as well as my thigh and my .40 Smith and Weston at the small of my back. The plate Ella had left for me had an omelet on it stuffed with bits of ham and veggies as well as a side of seasoned rice. It was amazing. Ella had also left a bowl of fruit on the counter and I found a small collection of other food's in the fridge, including bottled water and apple juice.

I finished off Ella's amazing food and left the dishes to dry in the sink along with a small thank you note. On my way out I grabbed my new ring of key's, one for my room and two other's I didn't know, along with the black phone Bobby had told me about. As an afterthought, I tucked my necklace into my shirt where no one would see it so it wouldn't be against uniform.

I bumped into Lester in the hallway as he was coming out of his own apartment and he smiled when he saw me. "Morning Shilo, you look good in black."

"Thanks."

"Fair warning," He said. "Everyone on five knows you sleep with a knife."

I groaned. "How did that get out?"

He laughed as we stepped onto the elevator and road up to five. "A few of the guys might have overheard Tank telling me about it in the gym this morning."

I rolled my eyes. "Great."

"Don't be embarrassed." He said nudging me. "If anything it just proves you've got good reflexes."

"She's just lucky I didn't throw it." I said. "I almost killed one of my step brothers once, cuz he snuck into my room and scared me. I grabbed the knife and had thrown it before I remembered that I'd just gotten home from my last mission. Another two inches to the left and I'd have skewered him."

"Might be best if you don't keep it under your pillow while you're here then." He advised. "No one in this building is going to hurt you."

Lester led the way and we walked into the small conference room right at 9:30. Ranger was sitting at the head of the table, Tank to his right, Stephanie to the left. Bobby was there along with Hector and Hal. Lester took his seat and I took the only open seat next to Julie.

She smiled when I sat down and passed me a cup of coffee. Once everyone was seated, Ranger started talking. "First off, I'm sure everyone is curious about Razor's condition. He's recovering well, Cal and Blaze are with him now. As soon as the doctor discharges him, they'll bring him here so we can all see him for ourselves."

He looked over at me. "Were you able to overhear anything yesterday that might help us?"

I shook my head. "No, they talked about their drinks, the music, and one of the waitresses O'Donnell's man took a fancy too; although the guard who spoke to the bar tender did speak fairly clear English."

Ranger nodded. "We believe that was the man O'Donnell gunned down in the ally. He did not survive the drive to the hospital. We do however have the other guard in a holding cell downstairs. Julie managed to stun him so he was out of the way when Michael opened fire." He turned back to me. "You'll listen in on our interrogation later; see if you can get anything. If he won't talk to us, you can speak with him directly. Do you have interrogation training?"

"Are we talking good cop/ bad cop interrogation," I asked. "Or something more along the lines of water boarding and bamboo slivers?"

Lester chuckled, and Ranger shook his head. "We save the water board for special occasions." He said. "If we can't get him to talk, we'll have to hand him over to TPD. Because of the suspicion of murder charge they are also hunting for O'Donnell."

"Julie and Shilo both need to go down to the station today as well and give their statements about last night." Ranger continued. "Steph, I'd like you to take them along with Blaze when he gets here. He needs to speak with them as well."

He talked for a bit more about a couple of other FTA's the company had as well as one of their client's who was stopping by to talk about have his security system upgraded. I tuned out this part of the meeting. I was just here for the O'Donnell case. I let my eye's wonder over to Julie and smiled when I caught her looking at me. Just as Tank was talking about the newly posted surveillance schedule, the door opened and Razor walked in.

"Mind if I join in?" He asked.

Everyone paused to say hello and welcome him back and then Razor dropped himself in the seat next to me that Hal had pulled over. Except for the sling he looked unharmed. Tank finished up the meeting and dismissed everyone.

I leaned against the table as the guys made their way out and spoke to Razor. "How are you feeling?" I asked.

He spun his chair to face me. "I've been better." He admitted. "Doc say's I'll have to wear the sling for almost a month, so I'm out of the filed until then."

"I'm sorry." I said.

He shrugged. "It wasn't your fault." He said. "I should have looked before I jumped into the ally. I heard you warn Julie about the gun. I was trying to get out there and help."

"I was wearing the wire." I reminded him. "If I'd thought you would follow me I could have told you to stop."

"I'm alive, that's what counts."

Steph came over to us and gave Razor a hug. "I'm glad you're ok Razor." She said, before placing a kiss on his cheek. "Have you spoken to the police yet?"

He shook his head. "No, Ranger wouldn't let them in to see me yesterday after the surgery. Remind me to thank him for that. Anesthesia really leaves me in a bad mood."

She smiled like this fact was an old joke between them. "We know. You feeling up to a trip down to TPD? I've got to take Julie and Shilo for their statements as well. You can come with us and get it out of the way."

He nodded. "You bet."

"Great," She said. "I'll grab Blaze and meet you all down stairs."

Julie, Razor and I walked down stairs together into the giant RangeMan garage. It was then I remembered the extra key's on my key ring. I'd meant to ask Ranger about them.

"Do either of you know what these are for?" I asked holding the ring up. "I know the one is for my room, but what are the others for?"

Julie pointed out the longer key. "That one will work on all of the company SUV's. I'm not sure about the other one."

"What's the number on it?" Razor asked. I glanced at the key and found a small number scratched on it.

"5."

He nodded. "That's to the gun room on the fifth floor. You can help yourself to any of the gear or ammo in there."

The elevator opened behind us and Stephanie came out with Blaze in tow. "Alright everyone." She said motioning to one of the large black SUV's. "Saddle up, I'm driving."

"Aww," Razor said, pouting at her. "I wanted to drive."

"Yeah, cuz that would work out." Blaze said rolling his eyes. Julie, Blaze and I got into the back so Razor could sit up front and not worry about bumping his bum shoulder. Steph got in the front seat and waved goodbye to the camera in the corner as we pulled out.

Blaze wasn't nearly as large as some of the RangeMen I'd seen so far, but with all three of us in the back seat we were still sitting thigh to thigh, my skin warm where it touched Julie's though our clothes. Julie was in the center seat, reclined slightly against the back of the seat. "I can give you your tour of RangeMan when we get back." She offered.

"Alright." I said, when she waited for my answer.

"It shouldn't take too long." She promised. "The buildings not very big, but it has a lot of parts. There's the gym, and the gun range down in the basement. You've already seen most of five, that's the work floor. Four is the onsite apartments. Bobby's clinic is on three, along with some larger meeting halls. Ella and her husband live on six. Seven is Steph and Ranger's onsite apartment."

What about eight?" I asked remembering the little half floor I'd seen from the street.

Julie shook her head. "It's not really another floor. Just a couple of bed rooms and an extra bathroom Dad, Err Ranger," She corrected herself. "Added to the seventh floor loft when the boy's were born."

Stephanie chuckled from her seat. "The extra space was a God send." She said glancing back at me in the review mirror. "Carlos and I usually stay in our off site house with the boys." She explained. "But sometimes the job requires us to be nearby and the boy's are too young to stay home alone."

Julie shook her head. "It's too dangerous for them to stay home alone."

"Danger is the nature of the job." Steph agreed. "We both feel better with them near us."

"Will I get to meet your boy's?" I asked.

She nodded. "You'll probably have the chance to see them once they get off school today. We're all going to be staying at Haywood until this O'Donnell case is wrapped up."

She pulled her wallet out of her pocket and flipped it open so I could see the picture in it. "That's Anthony Carlos on the right." She said, passing me the photo. "And Miguel Ricardo on the left."

The photo was of Ranger laying in the grass, one boy laying at each of his sides. The boys themselves were identical. Shaggy, straight black hair, their skin a few shades lighter than their fathers, and each with Steph's blue eyes. The photo was amazing.

"They look just like Ranger." I said, passing her wallet back.

She grinned. "Except for my eyes," She agreed. "That's what everyone says."

TPD was a little, uninspired, brick building in the middle of town. The lot was filled with old, beat up blue and whites and undercover cars that had seen better days. Stephanie parked right up by the front doors and then led our group inside.

She greeted the woman at the front counter by name and we were allowed inside once she'd seen everyone's RangeMan badge. Stephanie held out a badge to me when the woman looked in my direction. "We had this one made up for your stay with us." She said.

The badge was black with my photo and some basic information on it. I took it and tucked it into my pocket once I'd been cleared to go inside. Several of the officers waved at Stephanie as we walked through until she stopped outside one office in particular and knocked on the wood frame.

"Knock knock." She said to whoever was inside.

"Steph, this is a pleasant surprise." The man who come out of the office to greet us had dark brown hair and brown eyes, he was about 6 feet tall and looked like he'd comfortable reached his mid forties with no plans to retire.

He looked over our assembled group and when his eyes landed on me, I spotted an old knife scare running through one of his eyebrows.

"You have someone new with you." He said with a grin. "I didn't think Manoso was in the habit of hiring women."

Steph nodded and glanced over at me. "Shilo, this is Detective Joe Morelli." She introduced him. "He act's as our liaison whenever RangeMan and TPD work together. Joe," She continued waving a hand at me. "This is Miss Shilo Lowry. RangeMan has brought her in to help us with the O'Donnell case."

This caught the detective's interest and he looked me over again. "Do you have prior knowledge of the O'Donnell family?" He asked.

I caught the look Steph threw me, which meant I should watch what I say. RangeMan and the TPD were both working to catch O'Donnell, but that didn't mean I should give them everything I knew right off the bat. If RangeMan didn't find him first, they wouldn't get the money for his bond.

"No Sr." I said easily, feeling myself slid into an at ease position, hand behind my back, face blank so as not to give anything away. "I was just brought in to act as a close reference interpreter." I explained.

Detective Morelli caught my change in position and seemed to recognize the military stance. I was guessing some form of military service was in his own history, probably Navy. He did however seem pleased with my answer and returned his attention back over to Stephanie.

"I assume your here to finish giving testimonies about the incident at Wild Horse yesterday?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yes, all four of them were present during the shooting, but for medical reason's left the scene before they were able to speak with police."

"Your still a magnet for crazy's Cupcake." Detective Morelli said, headding back into his office.

"It wasn't my fault," Steph defended like this was an old argument. "I wasn't even there."

Morelli made a couple of calls on his phone and then all four of us were taken to different rooms, at the same time, to give our statements. I kept my recount short and simple making sure to spend more time on the unknown men who shot up the bar rather than the shoot out in the ally. I accounted for my injuries as well as Julie's and Razor's and explained why Blaze had left the scene to drive us back to RangeMan.

"Have you done work for RangeMan in the past?" The officer who was doing my testimony asked. He'd interrupted me a few times so far to ask me questions like this.

"I don't see what that has to do with the shoot out at Wild Horse." I said.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Just curious," He said. "Ranger doesn't often bring in new people for his team."

"I volunteered." I told him. "Ranger is a friend of my boss back home. I heard he could use the help of a translator so I flew out to see if I could be of any assistance."

"So you speak Irish?" He asked.

I nodded once, although I was pretty sure my accent gave the answer to that question away, and bit my tongue to keep from correcting him. The language was called Celtic, not Irish. We finished up shortly after and when I reentered the hallway, I saw that I was the last one to finish. I moved over to stand by Razor and Julie as Steph talked quickly with Detective Morelli. Once he walked away she nodded for the rest of us to follow her out.

Back in the car, everyone stayed silent until Steph pulled out of the lot.

"What took you so long?" Razor asked.

I shrugged. "He kept asking about my involvement with RangeMan and what my interest in the case was."

"Probably jealous that TPD doesn't have a translator on their staff." Blaze said.

The rest of the trip was quiet until we pulled into the RangeMan lot and then Julie grabbed my hand as we entered the main lobby. "Come on I'll give you your tour."

We started in the basement where there was indeed a large gym and a gun range for the staff to use. "You use your badge to let yourself in." Julie explained sliding her badge threw the lock on the door and it clicked open.

The gym was filled with all of your basics including a row of treadmills and mats for sparing. One the far wall I caught sight of a rack of fencing swords. Julie must have seen where I was looking because she asked. "Do you know how to fence?"

I nodded. "Yes, I have for several years."

"Too bad Razor's benched." She said. "He's really the only one who uses them. He would have liked the chance to spar with someone."

"Do you fence?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Not really, Razor's showed me some of the basic movies, but I'm not very good."

"I could teach you some things while I'm here." I offered. "Then you can be his sparring partner."

She smiled at me though it didn't reach her eyes. "I'd like that."

I followed along as she showed me the first floor. Mostly it was just lobby and a couple of conference rooms. We took the stairs to the second floor and found storage, a tech room where RangeMan stored the equipment it used on security jobs, and a door guarded by a large man in black.

"That's where the holding cell is." Julie explained as we passed by.

We stopped on three just long enough to say hi to Bobby in his office, before moving past our rooms on four, back to five.

Julie showed me were all the office work was done, and introduced me to more of the men working there. She pointed out Ranger and Stephanie's office as well as the offices where Tank, and Lester worked.

Once we found ourselves back in the small conference room we'd meet in this morning she sat down in Ranger's seat and put her feet up on the table. "That's pretty much all of it," She said. "except for the private apartments upstairs. Any questions?"

I shook my head. "Not about the building, do you know when Ranger's going to want to talk to the man we caught last night?"

She shook her head. "My guess would be after lunch. I know they tried to talk to him last night be he wouldn't say much, and whatever he did say was all in Celtic."

I sat down in the chair next to her. "That's what I figured."

We were quiet for a moment before she broke the silence. "What is your tattoo for?" She asked. I watched as she reached forward and ran one of her fingers along the seven small stars I had tattooed along the inside of my left wrist.

"They're for my family." I told her, not going into details.

She looked up at me; her soft fingers never leaving my wrist. "I'm sorry." She said gently. "I didn't mean to bring up sad memories. I know your file said that your family had passed away."

I nodded, pulling my gaze away from her soft brown eyes. "It was a long time ago. I was very young."

"What happened?" She asked. "If you don't mind telling me."

I glanced down at our hands, letting my eye's rake over the stars. I'd gotten them the day I turned eighteen. Col. Lowry had yelled at me all afternoon. I'd never volunteered information about my family before, but in that moment I wanted to share something with her. Even if I couldn't tell her everything.

"It was just my Grandma, my Mom, me and my two brothers at the time." I told her. We were the only one's who'd escaped the last attack. We'd moved to a small town and bought a cute little house near the woods hopping no one would find out where we'd gone. "There was a house fire."

"You were the only one who got out?" she asked.

I nodded. "My older brother, Ryan, carried me outside, I was only nine. He went back inside to look for our little brother and he never got back out."

"I'm sorry." She said again. "I shouldn't have asked."

"It's alright." I said. "I wouldn't have told you if I didn't want you to know. What about your family?" I asked to change the subject. "I know Ranger's your father, but Stephanie's not your mom right?"

She smiled, letting go of my hand as she sat back in her chair. "That's right," She said. "My dad met my mom, Rachel, when they were a lot younger. He was about to get shipped out and she was going to school. Needless to say, they weren't really planning on a baby."

We chuckled. "You were an 'Oops' baby?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, they got married so I would have Dad's last name, but the marriage only lasted a year or so. I don't blame them though," She said. "I know they both love me, they just weren't in love with each other."

"Was it just you and your mom growing up?" I asked

She nodded. "For a little while it was, then my mom married a nice guy named Ron and they had two boys together." She Grinned. "Four half-brothers and I'm the only girl."

I smiled at that, realizing we had more in common than I thought. "I had four brothers too." I told her.

"I thought you said two, earlier?" She asked.

I nodded. "I did, I had four brothers in all, three older, one younger. The eldest two died along with my father a few years before the house fire."

"Fate was not kind to you." She said.

"No," I agreed. "At one point I had a very large family, now it's just me." The stars on my wrist were for my immediate family, the rest of them were on my back.

"Sounds awful lonely to me." She said.

I shrugged. "I don't mind being on my own so much."

We chatted easily until noon when Julie's stomach let out a loud growl. I laughed at the blush on her face and then snapped my mouth shut as my own stomach let me know it was time for food.

"Ha," She said. "You're hungry too."

"Where do we get lunch around here?" I asked.

She waved me to follow her. "Come on, I'll show you the break room."

The break room was a neat room with green walls. A counter ran the length of one side filled with all kinds of sandwiches and fruit and veggie platters. I grabbed a sandwich and followed Julie over to sit with a few guys who'd waved to us when we first walked in.

We sat down with Hector, Blaze and Razor and dug into our food.

"Anything new?" Julie asked.

Hector shook his head. "Same old thing." He said his Spanish ascent very thick.

"Our watch teams haven't reported any movement yet today." Blaze said. "Our best chance at a lead is going to be the guy down stairs."

I listened to the comfortable chatter around the room while we ate, saying hello to a few more men who came over to introduce themselves or say hi to Julie.

Just as we were finishing up Ranger walked in. Tank was right behind him as the pair walked over to our table. He stopped at my side and nodded when I looked up.

"As soon as you're done, we'll head down and talk to O'Donnell's man."

I nodded and pushed the last bite of my sandwich away, suddenly wishing I'd eaten less. "I'm ready."

He nodded. "This way."

I stood to follow and Julie came too, a determined look on her face. We all got in the elevator together and rode to the second floor. When we came to the guarded door Ranger turned to Julie. "Go up stairs Julie." He said.

Julie shook her head. "No way, I caught him; let me at least listen in."

Ranger seemed to think for a bit before nodded, "You stay in the recording room."

"Deal."

We followed Ranger down a short hallway and he motioned for us to enter the first door on the right ahead of him. Once inside we found Bobby and Lester already sitting at stools in front of a row of monitors and other equipment. In front of them was a large, what I'm guessing, was a two way mirror so we could see into the attached room.

In the room next to us was the man Julie had stunned. He was sitting in a plane chair with his hands cuffed in front of him to a plane table. The rest of the room was bare except for the overhead lights.

I moved up to the glass to get a better look. He looked to be in his mid thirties, well muscled with black hair. His eyes were lighter, though I couldn't tell the exact color through the dark glass. He was still in his slacks and dress shirt from the night before, but someone had removed his jacket.

"Has he said anything yet?" I asked.

Ranger shook his head. "Very little, you can look at a clip of our first conversation later. For now listen and see what you get from him." He handed me a small black microphone. "I'm wearing an ear piece," He said. "Translate anything he says for me."

I nodded my understanding. Julie took a seat near Lester and I kept my place at the window as Ranger and Tank left the room. A moment later, they entered the room next door and the captive lifted his head to look at them.

Ranger and Tank split up so they were each standing on one end of the table, looking very menacing.

"Who are you?" Ranger asked.

The man at the table said nothing.

"Do you understand English?" Tank asked.

Again nothing.

"What is O'Donnell's purpose for being in Trenton?" Ranger questioned.

The captive looked back and forth between Ranger and Tank before glancing at the two-way mirror. "ba choir duit a mharú dom anois agus iad a shábháil na trioblóide." He said, his face blank.

I lifted the mic to my lips. "He said, you should kill him now and save them the trouble."

"Who are you afraid of?" Ranger asked, moving to stand in front of the man. "Who is going to kill you, O'Donnell?"

The man's eyes narrowed. Clearly, he understood enough English to realize that Ranger now understood him.

"We can protect you from O'Donnell." Ranger said. "If you will work with us."

The man shook his head. "Aon duine éalaíonn O'Donnell."

"No one escapes O'Donnell." I translated, smirking at the glass in front of me. I'd escaped him, and I'd see the day I got my revenge.

Ranger and Tank continued to throw out questions. Asking what O'Donnell was doing and where he was. They explained that we only needed Michael, that he was wanted for questioning in a murder.

The man never said anything. He watched them with a blank face, looking very much like a man who'd excepted that fact that he would die, and saw no reason to fight. After another fifteen minutes, I spoke into the mic again.

"Let me come in Ranger." I said. "You're not going to get anything from this guy. He's more afraid of O'Donnell then he is of you.

Ranger looked at Tank, and communicating silently, they both left the room. When they rejoined us, Ranger had Tank give me his earpiece.

"I'll go in with you," He said. "I'll stay out of the way in less there's trouble."

I nodded. "Anything in particular you want me to try and get?"

"Just the same things we were asking before."

I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and put the earpiece in, letting Tank take the mic so he could talk to us. "We're recording," Tank reminded me. "Don't worry about translating while you're in there, we can re-watch it later if he says anything.

I nodded.

"Be careful." Julie said as we left the room and I followed Ranger into the prisoner's room.

Again he lifted his head as we walked in, ignoring Ranger complete as his eyes locked on me. He grinned motioning with his chin towards Ranger, who'd taken up a post against the wall near the door, arms crossed over his chest. "Mar sin go bhfuil tú cén fáth a thuigeann sé dom." (So you are why he understands me)

I nodded my head once. "Sarah is ainm dom. Cad is féidir leat insint dom faoi Michael O'Donnell?"(My name is Sarah. What can you tell me about Michael O'Donnell?"

He smiled at me. "Tá O'Donnell aon spraoi, cén fáth nach bhfuil tú inis dom fút féin, álainn." (O'Donnell's no fun, why don't you tell me more about yourself beautiful.)

I shook my head. "Gan dul a tharlóidh" (Not going to happen) "Inis dom rud éigin chun é a dhéanamh fiú a chosaint." (Tell me something to make it worth protecting you.) He already knew all of the question's Ranger had asked.

He was quiet for several moments before he glared at me. "Tá tú sprao faoin oiread agus is mar an faobhar Chúba agus a chara dorchadas."

I moved quickly to his side and sucker punched him. He snarled at me, and I waved Ranger off when he moved to my side.

"Seans go deireanach." (Last chance) I warned keeping a scowl on my face.

When he kept his mouth shut, I shrugged and made to leave, Ranger followed me.

"fanacht" (Wait) he called.

I stopped near the door, and Ranger moved to stand behind me. "Yes?" I asked.

He watched me with cold, calculating eye's before letting out a small breath and speaking. "Michael O'Donnell is a spoiled little punk, who manages to get himself in trouble where ever we go." He said, speaking heavily accented English. "If you can put him away you'd be doing us all a favor. We only watch over him because he's family." He paused for a moment. "I don't know what the older O'Donnell's are planning, my job was to watch over Michael. All I know is they came to Trenton to speak with one of your local families; they're here to get someone."

"As in kidnap?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Most likely."

"What is your name?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Not important, I've given you what I know. Is it enough to protect me from O'Donnell?"

I moved to his side and grabbed the band of silver around his wrist. He tried to pull his hands away from me, but the cuffs kept him in place. The crest on the band wouldn't give us his first name, but it would give us a surname. He glared at me again as I took the bracelet and left the room with Ranger.

Back in the main room with the other's I tossed the silver band to Lester. "You can use that to get a name."

Lester spun the bracelet around and glanced at the crest under the light. "What is it?" He asked.

I pulled the silver chain around my neck out from under my shirt and held the pendant up so they could see the similarity between it and the one on the bracelet. "It's his family crest." I explained, tucking my own back under my shirt. "The other body guard at the bar was wearing an identical one. It will give you a surname, if you can match it. They're all different, but if this man is hanging out with O'Donnell he must be part of an older family."

Ranger took the band and looked it over before passing it back to me. "You know the most about them. We'll make identifying it your task, until we have more to go on. I'll assign you one of the computers on five to use while you're here."

I nodded.

"Why did you hit him?" Lester asked.

I hesitated and Ranger raised an eyebrow at me. "He said I was about as much fun and you and Tank." I explained looking at Ranger. "Only he didn't call you Ranger and Tank. He used very rude words for Latino and African Americans. He deserved to get hit."

Lester let out a bark of laughter and was shortly joined by both Julie and Bobby. Tank smirked at me and said. "Thanks."

Ranger nodded. "I would have hit him too. Good job in there."

I shrugged, "No problem, if he asks about me I told him my name was Sarah."

Lester led Julie and me back to five and showed me to one of the empty computers. "You can use this one while you're here." He said, using a marker to write my name on a piece of paper before pining it to the edge of the cubby.

"You can leave the bracelet in the drawer." He said, "Work on it when you have free time. We'll go over your interrogation in tomorrow mornings meeting so you can tell everyone together what he said."

I nodded. "I'll start working on it right away."

"No time." Julie interrupted. "We need to leave in an hour."

"For what?" I asked.

She grinned. "I knew you weren't paying attention to Tank in the meeting this morning."

"What did I miss?"

She smirked. "You're on surveillance with me this evening. They want you to be part of the investigation on all levels." She said, "Were going to go relive Cal and Zero. We'll watch over one of the places the O'Donnell's have been known to visit."

Oh, maybe I should have listened in the meeting. Julie and I freshened up in our rooms and grabbed our gear. I got a utility belt from the ammo room and filled it with my gun, handcuffs, extra ammo cases, and one of my knives. We weren't supposed to engage the O'Donnell's by ourselves if we found them, just call for backup and watch them.

On our way downstairs, we ran into Stephanie and Lester. Tagging along behind them, backpacks over their shoulders were her twin boys. They looked about a year older then the children in the photo she showed me had been, but it was definitely the same set of boys. They looked just like mini Rangers.

Steph waved us over and called to the boys. "Anthony, Miguel come over here."

The boy's came up to her side and smiled at us. "Hi Julie" They said together.

"Boy's this is Shilo." Steph said. "She's helping us out with work this week."

"Hi." The boy she'd called Anthony smiled at me.

"Hello" I said. "Nice to meet you."

Miguel spoke up next pointing to the gun on my hip. "Your gun looks like Mom's." He said.

"No it doesn't." Anthony said. "It's bigger then mom's."

Steph rolled her eyes. "No guns." She said sternly. "I swear you two didn't get any of my genes at all. They even eat like him."

Julie chuckled at a inside joke, I was clearly missing.

"It's not your fault Steph." Lester said with his own chuckle, slinging an arm around her shoulder. "It's a boy thing. Gun's are cool."

"Not when they're ten years old." She said.

"But Dad said he might get us bebe guns for our birthday this year." Anthony said quickly. "He thinks were old enough to start learning."

Steph's eyes narrowed and her hands fell to her hips. "Oh does he?"

"Some bodies in trouble." Lester said in a sing-song voice. "And for once it's not me."

"What about paintball?" Miguel asked. "Can we have one of those?"

Stephanie's shoulders dropped marginally, "Maybe, I'll speak with your father." She said.

Julie chuckled and tugged on my arm. "We'll see you later guys, we've got to go."

"Bye Julie." The boy's called racing off for the elevator.

I put my flack vest on the floor by my feet as I got into the passenger's side of one of the large RangeMan SUV's. Julie drove across town and pulled up behind another SUV hidden in the shadows of a secluded ally. The driver waved at us before pulling away and we took their spots, watching over a fancy looking restaurant called Rossini's.

~Darkrose

Leave me a review and let me know what you think. I really appreciate all of your encouragement.

Forgive me if my translations aren't perfect. I'm only a few months into my Celt lessons so I'm using an online translator to help.

Word count- 8850