Thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing this story. All mistakes are mine but I blame Mother Nature for all the inclement weather we are currently experiencing. We are at least 15C degrees cooler than normal. Will spring ever come?
Chapter 9
Grandma Mazur lay in the bed and she looked old, so very old.
Both Helen and Stephanie moved to the side of the bed and looked down. Her face was lined and she was starting to wrinkle her face, almost as if she was uncomfortable.
A nurse came into the room and moved to the front of the bed. She looked at the monitor and wrote down the results on the chart. She looked at both Helen and Stephanie standing by Ednas' bedside.
"There are some issues we need to address but the surgeon is confident of a successful recovery."
They looked down at Edna laying there. Standing up or even sitting down she could be a force, but lying in bed without her dentures and she just did not exude the never-say-die attitude she was so well known for.
Since she continued to sleep through their visit, they tiptoed out of the door and down the hall. Frank got up and headed to the room, staying only just a minute.
Frank came back and taking Helen's hand he looked ready to lead her out of the room.
"We'll go home and come back tomorrow. I suspect she'll probably sleep the clock around as they try to keep her comfortable."
Ranger nodded his head in agreement. He too took Stephanie by the hand and led her out.
"Come on Babe, you need to eat something and as your dad says, she'll probably just sleep. We can come back tomorrow and see how she is."
They nodded at the men stationed by the door. Ranger confirmed that they were being relieved in a couple of hours then he guided Stephanie to the elevator and pushed the button.
This time they watched the display to show which floor the elevator was on. Stephanie looked at Ranger and he smiled.
"We don't need to rush, Babe."
The drive back to RangeMan was made without speaking and they climbed out, heading for the elevator that was open and waiting for them. Arriving on seven there was a card and some flowers from Ella and Luis, and a bunch of balloons and various get well cards from the men in black. Edna's hands may be dangerous to the men but they knew she was a very special person in Stephanies' world.
Ranger walked back to the door.
"I just need to check in with Tank".
Stephanie was looking at the cake dome on the nook as Ranger left. Ella was a godsend and Stephanie had no idea how she could ever reciprocate her kindness. Curiously, she lifted the dome and saw a plate with monster cookies with little M and M's embedded in them. Picking up one, she took a bite and a happy sigh emerged.
She loved Ella.
~~~o0o~~~
Ranger stood in the doorway and Tank looked up.
"How's Grandma Mazur?"
Ranger shrugged his shoulders.
"I've heard a fractured hip is no fun but she has a strong will and will want to get back to her old self as soon as she can. She hates hospitals every bit as much as my Babe, so I believe the guys will hear an earful when she wakes up and as she recovers from the surgery, which still needs to be scheduled. Tests reveal a chemical imbalance and they will try to correct that before they do operate. We're going to need to provide some manpower guarding her room. If I were targeting Babe, I'd pick there to do something. Lots of people walking around and anybody can get a lab coat."
He looked at the duty roster on his phone.
"Four hour shifts until she leaves."
Tank nodded. "The weak point is coming and going into and out of the hospital. You need to impress on Little Girl that she must stay with an escort at all times."
Ranger nodded. He just knew that Stephanie would try to save time by jumping out of the vehicle and race in, leaving her escort to park the vehicle. He could list on his fingers what could happen: a car pedestrian hit and run accident, an assault down a hallway, or even someone sliding in the elevator just as the door is about to close.
"Take off and go up to seven. If I need you I'll call. I suspect that Stephanie will be feeling pretty low right now. Edna is pretty special to her."
Ranger made a quick detour to his office and grabbed some files. He intended to look at them after they got settled back on seven. Stephanie would want to use the office to delve into her search programs and some of the files in his hands could be worked on from any surface.
He walked into the apartment and noticed that Stephanie was sitting at his desk, with tears running down her cheeks.
He scooped her up and carried her out to the living room.
"What's wrong, Babe?"
Stephanie nestled into Rangers' chest.
"It's been a tough few days. I find out that I was abandoned just a week or so old. I have packages of strange pictures and movies delivered by someone I don't know. My parents and grandparents are not my birth parents and grandparents. Last but not least, my grandmother, the only grandmother I have ever known falls and is in the hospital waiting for surgery."
Ranger murmured, 'bath or shower' and she shuddered.
"I'd love a bath but I think I'd drown in one, so how about sharing a shower?"
Since there was certainly room for two in there, they moved to the bathroom and Ranger turned on the water. They both undressed putting their clothes in the hamper. He opened the glass door and they stepped into the steamy enclosure. She stood under the rainforest setting and let the warm water cascade over her head and shoulders. Ranger picked up the loofah and began to soap her body then letting the bubbles slide down and head for the drain. She stood with her eyes closed and he could literally feel her muscles relax.
Quickly washing himself he turned off the water and opened the shower door. Grabbing a large towel, he handed a towel to Stephanie for her to dry off then she grabbed one for her hair. He had taken a towel from the pile, dried himself then wrapped the towel around his waist.
"If you want Babe, I can help you comb and dry your hair. I'll be in the bedroom when you're ready."
The door closed softly behind him.
Stephanie looked at the door and murmured to herself. "I love that man."
~~~o0o~~~
Ranger slid out of bed. It was 5 am and he was headed to the gym.
Meeting Tank at the doorway, they chatted as they warmed up.
"I have a possible client that I'd like you to see today if you could, Ranger. I don't have a good feeling about it, but his financials certainly check out."
Ranger nodded but looked at his friend.
"I'll go but I'm taking you too. Just in case I have to leave suddenly you can finish the meeting."
Tank grumbled but agreed. If Edna took a turn for the worse everyone would be moving heaven and earth to get Stephanie and Ranger to the hospital.
Both Ranger and Tank wore their regulation RangeMan uniform, black cargos, black t-shirts that looked painted on their muscular chests, web belts bristling with everything from handcuffs to pepper spray, and completing the ensemble, blackened combat boots that confirmed both a professional and bad-assed impression.
The possible client had been proving a bit difficult to deal with from the very first phone call. Tank was of the belief that he was trying to get a better price by whatever means he could. The man had stated that in his opinion the men at RangeMan looked a bit scrawny and he was unsure if they could do the job. He had mentioned over the phone that there was a company starting up that had nobody under six feet tall or less than 300 pounds.
Ranger shook his head in disgust as he drove to the site. Tank had been giving him a short description of his preliminary dealings with this man. He wasn't about to waste his time on a company that only looked at their patrol staff. He had heard that this new start-up companys' monitoring was hit and miss due to a lack of trained employees and they were depending on patrol personnel doing drive-bys every hour or so. He mentally gave the appointment a 15 minute window and was prepared to walk away.
Ranger and Tank walked into the receptionist area. Behind the desk was a young girl who was obviously not working. She was sitting with both elbows on the desk, and playing with her phone, texting with both thumbs at a rapid pace. She would hit send, then go back and type more, sending and typing rapidly. She didn't even look up as the door closed and still looking at the screen, muttered, "Can I help you?"
Neither Ranger nor Tank spoke. The young girl looked up from her screen, dropped her phone on the desk and said, "Holy Shit, Batman!"
Tank coughed and covered up a laugh.
Ranger spoke.
"I have an appointment to see Mr. Bigwell."
She pushed back her chair, stood up and stammered, "I'll let my dad know you're here."
Ranger looked at Tank.
"Ten minutes, that's all he gets, ten minutes of our time."
Tank nodded his head and glanced at his watch.
Daniel Bigwell walked out with his daughter following behind. He looked like he was very stressed about something, or a number of somethings. He stalked over to Ranger and Tank.
"I haven't been able to find a secretary and my daughter is helping me out."
He looked around the office, and must have seen that there were boxes sitting against the wall, and office supplies ready to be unpacked sitting on the desk. He looked at her.
"I told you to get the office ready, Cindy. Were you on that damn phone the whole time? I'm paying you to work, you know!"
Ranger looked at Mr. Bigwell. "Sir, I can see that you are not in the proper frame of mind to discuss any kind of security arrangements with our company at this time. I suggest you give us a call when you can provide us a better idea of your security requirements."
With that, Ranger and Tank spun on their heels and let themselves out the door. They could hear dad and daughter yelling at each other as they headed down the hall to the stairway.
"I guess we can cross them off our possible new customer list," dryly commented Tank.
~~~o0o~~~
Ranger and Stephanie walked into Ednas' hospital room in time to see the surgeon and his residents in the room discussing their next move.
"Mrs. Mazur. Your iron levels are getting better and in my opinion I believe we can safely operate tomorrow."
Edna looked to Stephanie at the news.
"I hate hospitals and want to get out of here as soon as I can. Can't you just pump me full of whatever I need and do it today? I have things to do and laying here I'm just wasting away."
Stephanie tried to hide the smile on her face but a tiny smirk escaped. Putting herself in Edna's position, she would have said exactly the same thing in the same exasperated tone.
The surgeon looked at her then at the students.
"Well, I certainly understand your impatience Mrs. Mazur, but we want to have the best outcome and this is the safest route."
Edna grumbled and waved her hand.
"Fine, but I'm getting out of here as soon as I can. I'm not getting any younger, you know."
One of the young residents chuckled as they filed out of the room. She dealt with all kinds, but it was encouraging to have a patient who wanted to get better as soon as she could.
Stephanie stepped to the side of the bed and took Ednas' hand in hers.
"Hi Grandma. We came by as soon as we could this morning. I talked to mom and she said she's already been up and brought you a bag of things from your place. Unfortunately she's got a few meetings today and might not make it back up until tonight. We have a bunch of get-well gifts from Ella and the guys at RangeMan in the car. If you're ready to see them, we can go back to the parking lot and bring them up. They filled the whole back seat."
Edna looked at them with a happy smile. "I talk to those nice young men every time they change shifts when I'm awake. I feel like a VIP with all these hunky men guarding little-old-me."
She looked at Stephanie again. "Frank brought me my cell phone and I called all the girls at Cut-N-Curl to come and see me. I sort of mentioned that someone's out to get me while I'm here and I have lots of beef-cakes guarding my hiny."
Ranger shook his head. He might be forced to pay danger pay to his guards soon. Those friends of Edna's had pretty fast hands and his men would be forced to stand there. He made a note to warn them, literally wondering if they displayed more weapons visibly if the ladies would curtail their actions. Shaking his head, he had to admit that the targets presented to them as they came to visit would be too tempting to pass up.
A nurse came in and adjusted the bags on the IV pole, smiled and left the room. Stephanie and Edna were holding hands the entire time she was there and they both were smiling at something.
The nurse had seen the note that Edna had a very strong support system and it looked like their patient would be receiving frequent visits during her stay.
Ranger caught Stephanie's eye.
"Babe, I'll go get the stuff in the car. You stay here and visit. I'll be right back."
Stephanie slowly took her hand out of Edna's grasp.
"I'll come and help you. With us both carrying, we might get it up here in one load."
Ranger mentally shook his head. No, no, no. If they both had full arms carrying the gifts, his hands would not be free, and he couldn't properly protect her from harm.
He tried to be calm as he spoke.
"I'll grab a trolley or something and get them all up here. You stay here and visit."
Ranger stepped out while they were still chatting, heading down to the car for some of the get-well packages and flowers. He had advised the men of the anticipated influx of elderly ladies and they both literally blanched. Edna and her cronies were well-known. They were also on extra alert since in addition to guarding Edna, they were now also looking after Stephanie too.
Stephanie was gossiping with Edna when there appeared to be a scuffle outside the door. She let Ednas' hand go and strode to the door, getting ready to open it. As she turned the knob she heard, 'stay inside Stephanie.'
She backed up and stopped at Edna's bed. Something was happening outside and while her curious nature was working over-time, she stayed back. She did put her hand on her gun alert for any further directions.
There were three knocks on the door and Ranger spoke through the door. "It's OK Babe. I'll be in there in a couple of minutes."
Edna looked at Stephanie and while she had a worried look on her face and her hand was clenched in Stephanies', she nodded at the door.
"I just knew I'd be safe with these men outside."
Stephanie looked down at her and gave a shaky smile. So, was Edna the possible target, or her?
