A week later, Robin went into labor and a beautiful baby girl was brought into the world. Matt was quite the proud father and the five of them, Robin, Matt, Baby Jessica and their two sons, spent some time away from the station since there was a serious lull in the amount of accidents and need for rescues. Crane volunteered to handle the phones unless she was needed for flight duty. Cody helped keep things running until his brother's return.
Izzy and Mark spent most of the time trying to make sure gear was stocked and ready to go for any kind of emergency. The first aid kits were restocked, updated and reorganized. It had been a busy winter and everyone seemed to be waiting for the storm to hit after the calm. When spring and summer came sliding in with warm weather, so did the back yard adventurers as people began hiking and climbing for the season.
Crane worked on the chopper in her spare time, the jeeps and trucks and getting the snowmobiles ready for storage. She hardly spoke to anyone unless asked a direct question and even then, her answers were short and to the point. She kept to herself when not on duty, usually found reading, tending the horses or the equipment as if just needing something to keep her busy.
Matt had been relaxing at his dad's cabin when Sheriff Mac had come up to talk to him. He carried a folder with him as thick as his thumb and Matt could tell by the look on Macs face that this was serious business. Matt invited Mac into the cabin and Robin offered him a cup of coffee now that the baby was down to sleep for a while with Jeremiah and Jimmy down for a nap.
They sat around the table for a bit and Mac finally spoke up. "I pulled a few favors and got what you asked for. Most of this has to get back to the 'rightful owner' in the next twenty-four hours so I don't have much time." Mac opened the folder and began laying out photos. "This one is of Crane and her platoon. These others are of her when she was doing tours overseas. Apparently she blew the whistle on some major drug trafficking operation she uncovered as well as testifying against these three men…." He pulled out three mug shots. One was labeled Max Devon, the second Angelo Garcia and the last John Montgomery.
Matt looked at each photo, memorizing them. Mac continued, "All three got sentenced and were put away due to her testimony. It took a year to convict them since she had apparently been hospitalized due to the injuries she received by their hands. She had been fed false intel on their operations and when her troop was assigned to take the compound, it turned into an all out battle just to get back out again. They shot and killed three of her men and while she covered their exit, allowed Lt. Miguel and the rest of the platoon to escape with little injury. By the time they returned regrouped and called in reinforcements, Max, Angelo and John had taken her captive and moved Crane elsewhere."
Mac was quiet, not showing any of the other photos in the folder for a moment. He chewed on his lip a little then looked at Robin and Matt. "I won't show you the next set of photos unless you think you can handle it. They show what was left of Crane when they finally found her. It was touch and go with her survival for the next two months since her injuries were so severe. The doctors had done their best but had already written her off as never being able to fully recover. That was five years ago. Obviously she has but…if you had shown me these pictures and then told me the mutilated body in them had lived and was walking around right now, almost fully recovered, I would have called you a liar."
Mac looked between the two and at their silent nods, flipped over the first picture and the shocked looks on their faces said it all. Matt had seen quite a bit in his life but even this scared him, causing all color to drain from his face. Robin quickly looked away after gasping. She originally trained as an EMT and nurse but even she couldn't look at the ruined form of the woman in the pictures.
The picture was in black and white, keeping some of the details a little more distant. The human form in the picture was held up by two large meat hooks through her forearms. One leg had a tourniquet on it to obviously keep her alive and from bleeding to death but the gash below the belt was so deep it looked as though it had almost severed the leg off. The form was naked and her back was to the camera. The skin on her back was flayed off with whips and cuts so bad that there was nothing left to stitch together. Blood ran down her back and legs.
Her head had been roughly shaved and deep gouges had been cut into her scalp where chunks of hair had been cut away. Blood ran down her neck and joined the blood from her back. Mac flipped through a few more pictures. Some were of the front and the deep cuts across her breasts that left her 'ruined' caused Robin to look ill and quickly get up to leave the room. Matt could hear her sniffles from the main room and knew she was crying.
Mac then handed him the report about her injuries and recovery. The second report he handed him was from two months ago about the release of two of the three men. The third had died in prison due to complications with pneumonia. Max and John were now free and on the loose, who knows where. Matt knew that these men had raped, drugged, abused and abandoned this woman and if they could do that with no remorse, he knew they were capable of doing it again. He suddenly feared not only for Crane but for those associated with her. He now understood why she kept herself distant from everyone even though everyone at some time or another had attempted to pull her into the 'family'.
He sighed and shut the folder. "Thanks for your information Mac. Until these two guys commit a crime, there's little we can do except keep our eyes open for them. Please circulate their photos to those you can trust and have them contact us if they see anyone matching their descriptions or with their names. I don't want to be caught off guard. Nothing may come of it but my gut tells me she's not seen the last of them yet."
Mac agreed and picked up the folder. "I'll keep this on the QT for now. I would at least approach her and let her know that you know what happened." He stood and pushed in his chair. He looked at Matt with a sad smile. "…she received the CMH and a Purple Heart because of this. Bet she never told you that, did she."
Matt blinked at her, "She's got a CMH?" he asked to verify and at Macs nod, Matt whistled softly. "No, she never brought it up. Maybe I need to bring it up to her to 'break the ice' so to speak." He mentioned.
Mac only shrugged and then headed out to his horse and headed back down to civilization while Matt and Robin talked quietly about what they now knew about the recent addition to the Rangers. They both seemed to understand quietly without speaking that they seemed to understand more about Crane now then they'd learned in over six months. The sound of Jessica crying brought them out of their discussion and the youngster was seen to, bringing an end to that discussion.