Chapter 6

RPOV

I was sat nursing a shot of brandy as I slouched down on the couch. My head fell back with my eyes closing, absorbing the atmosphere that surrounded me. It always felt so good to be back and be surrounded by the tranquility and comfort. Would I call this apartment on the seventh floor home? Afterall it was only ever going to be a temporary holding place. Somewhere to eat and sleep and escape from the hustle and bustle of the work that took place below me. I suppose the fact that I'd remained here for over four years probably gave it the right to be called home.

My thoughts went over the last four months. Four months that should have been two, had the job that we'd been assigned to do been easier. As it turned out it was one of the most frustrating jobs that I'd ever been called on to do. It should have been straight forward, but then again, I should have known that's never the case. I now remembered why I hated the dessert; the constant heat and sand had never been something that I'd enjoyed, even though we did have access to air conditioned sections. There were no perps to take out, but I swear that I'd come close to breaking a few necks. If Santos hadn't been with me to calm me down, then I was sure that it would have happened. Not that he enjoyed our mission any more than I did, but he had a way of dealing with the men that we were there working with.

I'd taken a team to train some locals in how to secure and defend a large new solar farm in some god forsaken country in Africa. The businessmen who had shelved out millions wanted to know that the place wasn't going to be targeted by insurgents and of course our government had a piece of that pie. Which was why we were there to train the men who would be responsible for its safety. Those men were soft, both physically and mentally, so their training had been hard and slow. Discipline was difficult to instill at first which was where my patience was tested. It was like trying to pull teeth to get them into any shape with the skills that they would need.

I knew that my days of being called up for a mission were behind me now and that last job only emphasized how relieved I was with that. Would I miss it? Not really because there were other areas that as a company, we could plug into, that would give me the adrenaline rush and challenge. I smiled to myself as the image of a curly haired, blue eyed bounty hunter came to mind because she would certainly keep me on my toes if history of her antics was anything to go by.

A look at my watch showed it to be 0100 hours but my body was still in a different time zone. That's what age did for you, when you realized that jet lag was something that had to be worked through. 1800 hours was where my body was telling me that I should be, but I knew that I needed to get some sleep. I'd told Tank, my second in command, that I'd meet up with him at lunchtime. Then I'd get caught up with the Rangeman business that he'd been responsible for during my absence and try to slot back into my former routine. Take on what I was sure would be a mountain of paperwork that he hated doing.

When the alarm on my watch went off at 1100 hours, I felt more rested, maybe still a bit foggy but that was expected. A shower, coffee and breakfast soon had me feeling ready to face the rest of the day with some plans of what I'd fit in. Down on the fifth floor it seemed to be business as usual with the steady hum of voices and computers. I made myself known to the men working the monitors and others who were going about their daily routines that I was back. There were nods and pleasantries that came my way as they acknowledged my presence before I walked into Tank's office for him to get me up to speed with what had happened while I was away.

"You owe me a week's vacation. Lost your touch with training?"

I was sure that the look that I gave Tank conveyed exactly what I thought of his comment. Bastard. Maybe he should have been the one to go because he always had made an excellent drill sergeant. I refrained from saying that, but his comment did have me worrying that he'd had some problems while I was away.

"Couldn't you cope with the workload?"

He sat back in his chair and almost looked relaxed.

"Nah. To be honest time's gone slow because it's been so quiet. The usual break ins and a few new clients, otherwise we've run like clockwork"

The business that I'd nurtured from the ground up was responsible for the security of business and private properties around Trenton. It was a very successful business and I'd manned the office with ex military men who took on board the routines of patrolling areas and watching the monitors that covered the many cameras installed on those properties. As a way to increase revenue and supplement the startup costs I'd continued with a contract with the government and taken on the apprehension of high bond FTAs. Whilst we no longer needed the revenue from the apprehensions it was agreed that the distraction from boring routines kept the men on their toes and I suppose it was my excuse to keep an eye over that curly haired bounty hunter.

I snapped out of my reminiscing, focusing on some of the projects that Tank and I had discussed before I'd left, hoping that maybe he'd gone ahead and put those ideas into action.

"New hires?"

I asked because I knew that we'd talked about that before I'd gone away. Business was doing well so we'd decided to take on some new men but also diversify with the type of applicants we were looking for.

"Working out well. We have five new employees. As we discussed I looked at men who would be suitable for some of the less demanding jobs that we have. Reception and monitor duty to start with, but I think that a couple of them could do well on searches"

I raised an eyebrow at how quickly Tank had moved in employing people, but assumed that like any other employee that they'd be on a six month probationary period.

"Garret is confined to a wheelchair, but he still uses the gym for upper body strength. Two men, Hank and Jerry are older, so they don't have what it takes to be in the field and then we have Flynn and Jack who were given a military discharge on medical grounds"

"Medical grounds?"

I queried because that term covered a raft of reasons.

"Yeah. Flynn suffered PTSD and he's still very nervous and jumpy. Bobby's had the shrink working with him and to be honest he seems to be improving in how he's coping. Jack, or Ajax as he likes to be called, lost his lower leg, but he has a descent prosthesis now"

It actually annoyed me that men who were that badly injured weren't treated better by the army. They still had a lot to offer even if it meant that they weren't front line soldiers. I waited and continued to look at Tank because there was still one aspect of his usual report that he hadn't mentioned.

"Oh yeah, almost forgot. Little Girl"

He said that with a grin on his face, so he knew damned well that hearing how Steph had been doing was important to me.

"Steph actually helped with the background searches on the applicants and then I asked her to stand in on the interviews. She knocked three out at the paperwork stage because they lied about their history. Then two who we interviewed treated her like some blonde bimbo, demanding she brought them their refreshments. Hell, one of them had the nerve to call her honey and was hitting on her. Bobby was close to decking him"

I smiled as the thought of that went through my mind. Steph would not appreciate being degraded by a man like that and Bobby had always treated her as an equal taking her opinion seriously.

"Anyhow, besides that she hasn't had any problems with her skips. In fact she managed to bring in one of ours. Man, you should have been here for that. I got an alert that her car had gone offline, so I alerted any men who were on patrol to get to her quickly. By the time that Bobby and I got to the scene the police and fire department were there dealing with her burning POS car. Morelli must have got there just before us but hell, he was really having a go at her. You know, his usual shouting and rantings that she was no good at the job and how she was a disaster"

I could just imagine the scene because I'd seen it so many times before when she'd been involved in a nasty incident. Looking at Tank though I couldn't understand what he thought was so funny about that, so I waited for him to continue with his story.

"Little Girl, well she'd obviously had enough but she acted all calm, which to be honest seriously worried Bobby and me. Before we could move, she'd stepped up to him with a stun gun in her hand pointing it at his chest. If Eddie hadn't grabbed hold of her, I'm pretty sure Morelli would have been flat on his back. Her parting words to him were that if he stepped into her personal space again or interfered in her personal or work life, she'd make good on stunning him"

I'm sure that I was smiling as Tank recounted the story. As usual for me I'd made sure that I'd caught up with Steph before I'd left for that last job. It had become a habit for me to let her know that I'd be out of town but also to try and persuade her to seek out Tank's help if she needed it. I'd eventually tracked her down to the bonds office and as was my way had asked her to talk to me in the alley next door. As soon as she was leant against the wall with one foot against it, I could sense that all was not well with one Stephanie Plum. She was annoyed and it took a bit of persuading, like a long passionate kiss, before she'd calmed down enough to given me the full story. I'd almost sighed at hearing the ongoing saga of her fall outs with Morelli but as she'd given me the run down of his behavior, I'd actually thought that maybe she was seeing the unhealthy relationship that she had with him, and I was regretting having to leave.

Apparently, Steph had had enough of the rumors raging around the Burg concerning Morelli meeting up with not only Terry Gilman but also a nurse from one of the hospitals. Contrary to how she usually dealt with rumors like that, to go into denial land or accept Morelli's excuses, she'd staked him out. I wasn't sure how she'd managed that and wasn't going to ask. She'd seen first hand that the rumors of the nurse were in fact true when she'd seen Morelli meet with her so I could understand her being so annoyed. Catching him with Gilman, well that would have required more stealth and time, so Steph had obviously used her skills for that one. No smoke without fire. That Morelli had then gone on to verbalize his wish to marry Steph to her mother had added insult to injury, so she was about to give Morelli a piece of her mind before putting her mother right. To be honest I was sorry not to be around for the fall out of that but in the back of my mind wondered how long it would be before they were back together. It seemed from what Tank had told me that she'd stuck to her guns and was having nothing to do with Morelli. That had me smiling.

"I made sure that the payout for our FTA went to Little Girl, after all, it was her who had the two perps cuffed up and sat on the sidewalk, though I'm pretty sure our FTA had one hell of a headache"

"Our FTA?"

I blurted out when I realized what Tank had actually said. How the hell had she managed to take down one of ours, suddenly concerned that she'd been hurt.

"Pure coincidence that he turned up, but I made sure that the payout went to her"

I nodded my agreement for what Tank had done agreeing that she deserved the money but was now worried with how her car had caught fire.

"How did her car catch fire?"

Concerned at how that had happened. Tank rubbed his hand over his head so I knew that his version of the story may or may not be the true version.

"According to Steph she was walking down the path with her FTA when a car came screeching to a stop over the road. The man who got out was our FTA and was shouting and screaming at her to release his brother. When she didn't, he brought out a gun. Stupid bugger hit her car, but he was too close to it when it went up and ended up knocking himself out"

It was a reasonable account but from how Tank avoided looking at me I knew for sure that there was an alternative version.

"Okay, now tell me the other version"

He sighed before moving his eyes and looking at me belying the fact that he was sure that this rendition was closer to the truth.

"Well, it seemed strange to me that Little Girl was there on her own. When I asked her where Lula was, she became a bit nervous. My bet is that Lula was the one to fire her gun and hit the car, because Shane Patrick's gun hadn't been fired. I made sure to get hold of it and have Cal hand it over to Eddie before they took him in"

A close call then for Steph because maybe if Lula hadn't hit the car, then she could have been in trouble with Patrick. That man was a repeat offender and had a very short fuse before he became violent.

"Has she had any other problems?"

Hoping that Steph had managed to stay out of trouble.

"No, no stalkers or any injuries. She came to see me when she realized that the money had hit her account, trying to get me to take it back. She was driving the Buick, so I insisted that I went with her to buy another car. I think that she realized that was a compromise that she could live with. I got Louis to go over it and had Hector add a tracker, but it's been quiet for the last few weeks"

I was relieved to hear that but would be tracking her down today just to be sure and also to let her know that I was back in town.

"There are some files and contracts waiting for you on your desk"

Maybe Tank knew me too well and would surmise where I would be going later today. Standing and walking toward the door I stopped when Tank called out to me.

"Ashcroft keeps calling. Asked for you to talk to him when you got back"

I didn't reply but acknowledged that I'd heard him before walking out of Tank's office and heading next door to mine. Taking in the scene of my desk and the mountain of files piled up, Tank wasn't kidding when he said that I had papers to go through and contracts to sign. I knew that would be the case so resigned myself that I would be going through the paperwork for most of the day. I skimmed through the contracts seeing that my signature was only necessary to endorse the decisions that Tank had taken. I would never question Tank's integrity so was only too happy to add my signature.

The files, well some of them were the men's reports that had accumulated while I'd been away. Those were put to one side to read when I had more time. Other files were the end of quarter summaries from the other offices that I usually read through carefully. Being CEO of Rangeman required that I ensured accountability from the managers of those offices, so I told myself that I'd look over the reports from the Boston office first.

Two hours later I knew that I was nowhere close to finishing, but I was also aware that I wanted to leave the office. The bonds office would be closing in an hour and having pulled up Steph's tracker I knew that was where she was. I didn't bother to let Tank know that I was leaving the building, he had my phone number if he needed to talk to me, so was soon driving my Porsche out of the garage. It felt good to be driving the high performance car after only driving jeeps for the last few months and I relished the comfort of sinking into the leather seats. Yeah, I was glad to be back in Trenton.

I smiled as I reversed the car into a parking space in front of Vinnie's Bail Bonds office thinking how much Steph would be annoyed with me. She called it parking karma but to be honest it was only luck. Once out of the car I was soon opening and then stepping through the door into the office. I was looking around for Steph, surprised to be seeing only Connie and Lula. Connie was behind her desk with her feet propped up, reading a book, while Lula was in her usual place on the couch. They both looked up to see me as I entered but then they were looking at each other. If I didn't know better, then that alone told me that something wasn't right.

"Ranger. Good to see you back. Cal collected the files for Rangeman this morning, so I don't have anything for you"

I continued to look around before the inevitable question came from me.

"Where's Steph?"

Assuming that maybe she might be out back in the washrooms. I didn't think that she would voluntarily be in Vinnie's office.

"Err, not here"

I looked at Connie wondering why she seemed so curt with her answer. I hadn't been made aware that she was in trouble that necessitated for her to be hiding out. Lula was obvious by how quiet she was and the fact that she hadn't moved, at all. In fact, I was pretty sure that she was just staring at the magazine in front of her and not actually reading it.

"Is she in trouble?"

I asked now aware that I was becoming worried. If Steph wasn't here, then why was her tracker showing her to be here?

"I don't think so"

"For heavens sake Connie, tell the man"

The outburst from Lula shocked me and I watched as she got to her feet, well after almost rolling off the couch and pulling her bright pink sequined top up to cover herself. I turned back to Connie, the look intended to intimidate her, making her look nervous as she straightened in her chair.

"Tell me what?"

I asked just to be sure that Connie knew that she needed to tell me. I knew that I was feeling tense because what had been said so far was reminiscent of Steph going off on her own after someone, when she would know that she could run into trouble. What surprised me was when Connie unlocked, then opened the drawer in her desk and pulled out Steph's bag.

"She wasn't sure when you'd get back"

I heard a huff from Lula so knew that she expected for Connie to say more but for now she was staying quiet as she stood with her arms folded over her chest. I took the bag now knowing why Steph's tracker put her here at the bonds office, but Connie's words and actions were confusing me. Why the hell was she giving me Steph's bag? It was obvious from the ensuing silence and how the two women were determined not to look at me that I wasn't going to learn anything more, well, not at the moment. With the bag in my hand, I returned to my car not even second guessing where I would be going to next.

Pulling into the parking lot behind the red brick building where Steph's apartment was located, I realized that I had no idea what Steph's car looked like and even hesitated before deciding that I'd have to call Tank.

"What?"

If I didn't know better, then I'd say that I'd disturbed Tank. I have to admit that I hadn't even checked if he was still at Rangeman.

"Are you at home?"

I asked hoping that my question would annoy him.

"What if I am. Santos and Bobby are in charge. I take it that you're not there either"

He had me there so there was no point in lying.

"No. I was trying to catch up with Steph but have no idea what car she has now"

"Silver 2000 Mitsubishi Montero Sport, SUV"

The phone went dead as soon as he'd told me the make and model of the car, so I spent a few minutes looking around at the cars parked up. Sure enough at the back of the lot by the dumpster I spotted the car. That had me assuming that Steph was here which to be honest was a relief, though why she would leave her bag with Connie was leaving me feeling very confused. As I exited the car, I grabbed Steph's bag and then headed for the rear door. It was quiet as usual, and I knew the stairs would be empty because none of the elderly residents used them. After knocking on her door several times, I placed my ear to the door trying to get a sense if there was anyone inside, only to be greeted by silence.

The lock picks in my cargos soon dealt with the lock and there was no chain to contend with, so I was soon walking into her apartment. I knew as soon as I'd closed the door behind me that it was empty. As I walked through to the kitchen area and looked over to the couch it was to see a very tidy place that had a layer of dust. I was almost afraid to walk through to the bedroom in case something very bad had happened to her. The floor was clear of any clothes and the bed was made but what caught my attention was a white envelope propped up against one of the pillows.

Now I was definitely worried, and thoughts of Steph being kidnapped came to my mind. I strode over to the bed and grabbed hold of the envelope and looked at the writing, sure that I recognized it. Sat on the side of the bed I turned on the bedside lamp and looked at my name written in the center, Ranger, sure that this was Steph's writing. Had the kidnapper made her write her own ransom demand to avoid him contaminating the envelope and paper. You may think that I was being overdramatic with the thoughts that were going through my head but if you knew anything about Steph it was how she managed to attract trouble. That trouble could be in the form of stalkers, kidnappers, arsonists and down right dangerous people. I hoped nothing bad had happened to her as I carefully broke the seal and pulled out a sheet of paper. At first glance I couldn't understand why there was so much writing, so leant back against the bedhead and started to read.

Ranger.

If you're reading this, then you made it home and you're okay. I'm so happy about that. The problem is that I'm obviously still away. I have no idea how much time has passed, but I wanted you to know why I wasn't here when you came home.

Believe me when I say that I didn't want to do what I ended up doing. You know me though, I'm a sucker for a sad story, especially when it involves the people that I know.

So I'll give you the background, that way you may understand why I ended up saying yes. It turns out that Anthony Morelli's kid went missing, so the whole of the Burg was on the lookout for him. He's fifteen years old and I suppose typical for his age. You know, moody, secretive and glued to his computer or phone. There was no sign that anything bad had happened to him, though all of the hospitals were canvassed, but then Zook dropped a bomb and he was telling everyone that Daniel wasn't online very much with him, playing their games, and when Zook had challenged Danny why, he was told that he had more important conversations going on. Danny's phone was a dead end because he'd wiped it clean, and I suppose the whole family was really worried with what Danny had got involved with. Anyway, out of the blue I got a call from Danny asking for my help.

You guessed, I couldn't refuse. I might be the one person who stood a chance of getting him home.

Don't worry about me but if I do get into trouble maybe I can call you.

Stephanie

I read that letter several times over before I took out my phone and called Steph's number. Of course, the call failed which meant that her phone was probably turned off or even dead. Getting up from the bed I straightened the pillows and cover before turning off the lights not knowing what else to do. Reading what Steph had said was the last thing that I'd expected. I knew that she would help if she was worried about someone, that was in her nature.

Having Steph's bag in my hand I went through it until my hand found her keys and then locked up her apartment. I'd look through the rest of her bag when I was back at Rangeman, but for now I had too much on my mind. I knew that Steph was always there for me and that often meant putting herself into dangerous situations. She'd never refused and had always done everything that she could do to help me. Yeah, memories came to me of the whole incident with Scrogg and how she'd voluntarily allowed herself to be taken by him in order to get my daughter back. Then there was when I'd been a person of interest for the murder of Homer Ramos, and she'd been there as well when Orin had plagued me.

I suppose that I couldn't be annoyed with her for agreeing to help the kid, but damn it, I was. I hated the idea that she'd gone off on her own.

As I got inside my car and started the engine, I considered what emotions were taking a hold. Worry for her safety and concern that she might get herself into a situation that could be dangerous, but stronger than that was the need that it should be me that was there with her. I drove on auto pilot back to Rangeman and decided that there was little that I could do about Steph. I had no idea when or where she had gone or what mode of transport had been used.

Coming out of the stairwell on the fifth floor I was greeted by Santos who obviously guessed where I had been.

"How's Beautiful doing? Cal told me about her catching one of our high bonds"

I toyed with the idea of telling him to mind his own business but knew that her story would come out eventually.

"She's away looking for a young boy"

Yeah, that seemed to surprise him but then again, this was Steph that we were talking about.

"Something about Anthony Morelli's teenage kid disappearing"

I decided to add as I walked toward my office surprised when Santos kept up with me and followed me inside. To be honest I wasn't sure what he wanted.

"Let me get this straight. Did she go on her own?"

I raised my eyebrow because hadn't I already said that? To be honest even if Santos asked me any more questions, I was sure that I wouldn't have any answers. Maybe tomorrow I could ask around and see if anyone had any clues for me to follow. After Santos left, I busied myself with finishing the reports from Boston before taking a stroll around the floor. Seeing as I didn't recognize the two men on monitor duty, I decided that introductions were necessary.

"Carlos Manoso but everyone refers to me as Ranger"

I said as I extended my hand to the first man who was quick to stand up and shake my hand.

"Jack Nix, sir"

"Flynn Conrad, sir"

I was impressed with both of them and how they responded and would never have guessed that Jack was wearing a prosthetic leg from how mobile he was.

"As you were"

I said as I walked away from them. Time would tell how well they did and how they fit in with the work and the men here at Rangeman but if it did work out then it was definitely something that I'd roll out to the other offices. It was still mid shift so there were only a few men on the floor, there as emergency backup if needed, so after telling Binkie to call me if there were any emergencies, I was soon on my way up to seven.

Having occupied myself with work for the evening I now found my mind wondering back to Stephanie. The problem that I was having was knowing how something simple could turn into something dangerous when she was involved. Yeah, I had a lot of experience of that happening with her. Having no idea where she'd gone or how easy she thought it would be to bring this boy home, I was under no illusion that plans never worked out as they should when Steph was involved. What was bothering me was why would she need to be going and not Morelli. He was the cop in the family so surely, he'd have been the best one for the job. Then again, the boy had called Steph so why would he do that? I had to admit to myself that I was worried, and then there was the puzzle as to why Connie had Steph's bag.