Just borrowing them Janet.
Talk Amongst Men
Ranger sat in his office. Three days later and he was still in shock.
He pondered his next move. He had called everyone he could for information where they had taken his Babe. He wanted to talk to the lead agent, but he was getting stonewalled at every turn. He was trying to convince someone that she should not have been caught up in the dragnet. Finally he had received a call. They were polite but firm. He was to submit his report. His job was completed. He had been paid. Get on with his life. It was up to them whether she was guilty or not. They would find out the truth.
He had his computer open and ready to receive the report he was supposed to produce. His arm ached. His heart ached even more. Gathering his thoughts he began to type. The cast made it difficult and he found he could only use the two finger method. Stopping now and then to proofread, he continued with his report. Page after page was entered. Ranger was very careful. He had documented every encounter, every observation, every conversation. His equipment was top of the line. He had documentation, tapes, videos and photos confirming his suspicions. Finally he came to the last page. He stopped and leaned back. There was a soft knock on the door. Ranger saved his work and closed the lid. Barking, "Enter", he looked up.
Manny opened the door. In his hand was a folder. He strode into the room and placed the folder on the desk. He stood at parade rest. Ranger looked at him. Manny with his military haircut and hard, fit body, looked like he had been on a bender. He had dark circles under his eyes. He looked like he had not slept for a few days. In other words, he looked like Ranger felt. Ranger motioned him to sit down. "What do you want, Ramos?" he asked in his no-nonsense tone.
Manny sighed. When Ranger used last names, he was pissed. He stepled his fingers and looked at Ranger. "This whole operation has been an eye opener to the whole company, Ranger. We have all been going round and round in our heads if we missed something. I have lain in bed at night wondering if we were deceived. How could she act one way with us and another way to the general world? We are trained to see things and feel danger. I never once felt that with her, and I know the others feel the same. Could she have been drawn in somehow by her parents to draw attention away from themselves?"
Ranger looked back at him. He punched a button and summoned Tank. As he knocked, walked in and closed the door behind him, the three men stared at each other silently. Ranger motioned Tank to take a seat. "I could go to jail, as you know, for what I am going to tell you. This does not ever leave this room. I also feel that she has been accidentally drawn in. I watched her family for three months. Can you imagine how hard it was to stay away from her? I had to be very careful anytime I was in her vicinity. She has that damn spidey sense and knows when I am around."
He looked at Tank. " I have no idea when they started this operation, but I personally do not think that she is involved. Nobody can keep up that kind of acting without something slipping. Her manner continued the same way as it has since we met her. I am just completing my report and I am going to include that I think she is an innocent party and was accused by association. "
Manny smiled. He pushed the folder over to Ranger and motioned him to read it. Ranger read quickly. He had basically said the same thing in his personal viewpoint. Added to the bottom he had put in his qualifications. Not many people knew that he had a PhD. In Behavioral Psychology from one of the most prestigious colleges in the U.S. He was on call to the U.S. Military, the FBI, NSA, and DEA. His missions now included sensitive missions with respect to providing information on personnel charged with protection of senior politicians and visiting dignitaries. His work was well recognized in the psychological community.
Ranger looked at him. "Can I add this to my report?' Manny nodded. He would stand by every word. Without a word, they stood up and shook hands. It was their way of finishing a mission. They had done all they could for the Bomber. They hoped it was enough.
Monica was getting frustrated. She had used every trick she knew to get Stephanie to admit her guilt.
Edna had capitulated first. Her age and health did not lend itself to handling interrogation well and she freely admitted being drawn in by the excitement of being a messenger. She was able to combine her love of casinos with the small but possibly dangerous job of passing messages from drop box to drop box. It had been fun while it lasted but she feared that her days of freedom were at an end. She came to the sad conclusion that she would probably not see the outside walls of a prison for the rest of her life.
Helen had been the next to cave. She had tried to be a partner but she had no idea about electronics and how it all worked. She had refused to learn anything about guns, and her main concern remained that she keep up appearances in the Burg.
She had been taken aback when she had learned how her husband had kept under the radar for so long. He had served his country in the army so long ago and she thought that he was just a postie doing his job when she met him. He seemed like such a wonderful man. They had had a whirlwind romance and had gotten married a few months after meeting.
Valerie had soon followed and a few years later Stephanie was born. Helen had turned into the perfect Burg housewife with supper on the table by six, two beautiful children, an immaculately kept house, and a list of favorite charities and organizations to volunteer at. They seemed like a normal family.
She had no wish to go downstairs and had never questioned Frank on the clandestine meetings he held down there. She had quickly and efficiently cleaned up any messes when renovations were being done over the years. She was pretty sure that she had kept all the evidence away from the girls. They had always made changes to the house when the girls were either at school or at summer camps. Work had always been done with the regular house maintenance and any new equipment had been brought in under the guise of new appliances or household furniture.
Frank held out last. He had been imbedded so many years ago, even he couldn't remember the exact moment. All he could remember was that he had been very disillusioned about fighting a war he really did not believe in. He had expressed that opinion one evening to a buddy as they hunched in a smelly, wet foxhole deep in country.
He had no idea that his remark would lead to a clandestine meeting after he had finished his tour. One thing led to another and the money he had received went to help to buy a house and supply his family with small but necessary possessions. His salary as a postie was adequate but it would take forever to obtain extras. His cars were never flashy, but they may have had a few more options. The furniture and appliances were one step up from what he would normally have obtained. He could actually take his family on a vacation and stay in motels instead of camping in tents. His pride and joy, his fly fishing equipment was always top of the line quality. He loved to fish.
Frank had never believed that he was hurting someone. The information he passed on or obtained seemed so trivial that never once did he believe he was the enemy the posters had always talked about. He thought back to the phrases, Loose Lips Sink Ships, A Careless Word- A Needless Sinking, Somebody Blabbed – Button Your lip, Americans Suffer When Careless Talk Kills. He had never thought he was the problem. It had been so gradual. A note here, a meet there. He would hear things and pass them on. No harm, no foul, right? He was providing for his family, his first concern.
After he had retired from the Post Office and took a job as a cabbie, more tidbits came in and he dutifully passed them on. It all seemed so innocent. He was always well paid for his information and under a floorboard there was a tiny compartment that had money for emergencies. He thought back. Valerie was born by emergency caesarean. That had been a huge extra expense, but mom and baby were fine.
Stephanie had jumped off the garage and broken her arm. There was money to treat her. His parents had had a hard life. He was able to give them some extra necessities later in life to make their final days easier. He tried to justify it. He was not a bad man. He just needed a bit of help.
What harm had it caused? It was not like he was giving plans of the new aircraft carriers to the enemy. So what if they had found out about a soldier heading to a certain airport. Why would anyone care if a helicopter lifted off from certain buildings in the middle of the night?
Lately they had been more interested in where Stephanie's boss was. If she mentioned to her dad that he was 'in the wind' he would pass it on. So what? There was a big world out there. Why would they care he was leaving? As he sat in his cell, he contemplated his life. He didn't class himself as a spy. That's what they kept calling him. They threatened he would be formally charged with treason.