I felt like posting another chapter today. All mistakes are mine.

Chapter 15

Stephanie and Ranger stepped into the waiting room and were met at the door by Frank and Helen. Val and Albert were already in the room.

Stephanie sat in a chair and began to twirl her wedding rings around and around her finger.

The nurse who had spoken to her had said that the operation and the post-op would take about two hours and then they could see her.

There was little small talk and everyone settled in.

Ranger stepped out to take a few calls. Obviously they must have been important since everyone at RangeMan knew what was happening this morning at the hospital.

Helen had brought two containers containing cookies, squares and a single layer sheet cake. In another container there were pieces of cut-up fruit.

Val had opened the small picnic container and brought out paper plates and serviettes.

Frank had purchased a large carry-out box of coffee with creamers, sugars and stir sticks.

Stephanie took a cup of coffee and mixed in her condiments and then on a napkin she placed a small handful of grapes. Ranger sat with a black coffee only. The others took coffee and various snacks, sitting down on the chairs and tried to stay calm.

A surgeon materialized at the door looking in and everyone stood up.

He stepped in and looked at them all individually before speaking.

"Mrs. Mazur came through the operation and is in Recovery at this moment. She is in excellent health for a woman of her age and the replacement hip did not cause any problems in the insertion process. We will get her up in a few hours and start the rehab process."

Helen spoke. "Doctor, how long does a patient normally stay in the hospital after a procedure like this?"

The doctor spoke. "We try to release patients either on day three or four and they can continue their recovery at home."

Frank nodded and looked at Ranger. Ranger didn't seem concerned at the length of Edna's stay and he shrugged.

A nurse walked to the doorway and looked in.

"Mrs. Mazur is back in her room. Two visitors at a time only please."

Once again Frank looked around. Stephanie spoke. "Why don't you and Mom go in first, then Val and Albert and then Ranger and I can. I know that Val has to get back since the kids are getting out of school soon."

Frank took Helen by the hand and walked down the hall. He nodded at the two men standing outside and pressed down on the handle, opening the door.

They came back to the waiting room and nodded at Val and Albert to go next.

They stood up and headed down the hall, but only stayed just a few short minutes before coming back.

Val spoke. "You go. Albert looked like he was going to faint and we hadn't even gone inside. He hates the smell in a hospital and it sets him off every time. One of your guards grabbed him and sat him down in a chair that the other one dragged over. I'll take him home to recover and come back up later tonight, alone."

She nudged a visibly pale Albert out the door.

Stephanie and Ranger stood up and walked down the hall. Marty and Manny were on the door and they stopped, but it was Stephanie who spoke.

"Thanks guys. Albert can be a danger to himself, but thanks for stepping up and keeping him from hitting the floor. He's broken his nose at least three times from face planting."

The men nodded their heads, but inwardly chuckled. Albert was such a strange character, but he was part of Stephanie's family.

Opening the door quietly they stepped in, walking toward the bedside.

Edna was only half awake but put her hand out and Stephanie moved closer to give it a gentle squeeze.

"Hi Grandma. We heard the operation went well and now you can begin to heal. We'll let you sleep for a while but I bet you're up and walking really soon and then you can get out. I know you hate hospitals and that's probably where I get the same reaction about them as you say you do."

Edna nodded her head and her eyes closed, still holding Stephanie's hand.

Gently she slipped her hand out of Edna's loose grip and stepped back.

They headed out the room, closing the door softly behind them.

Ranger nodded at the men and put his hand on the small of Stephanie's back, guiding her to the elevator.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger received a call on his cell. Opening the line he barked, 'Manoso'.

On the line, Hannibal Gibson spoke.

"Ranger, that's one strange family. I checked out the address and there is a mishmash of an unkept appearance except for a freshly painted fence and house."

He waited not surprised that there was no response.

"I checked and Mrs. Morrison has quite the reputation for calling Bylaws about anybody parking their vehicle in front of the house. She seems to literally time them and at the 36 hour mark, she's on the phone. I also dug up that she was charged with uttering threats to a couple over a period of time in Key West. She was fined. Oh wait, here's the juicy one. She applied to City Hall for a commemorative plaque to be placed at either end of their sub-division extolling how wonderful her son was before he died."

He waited a few seconds but once again, there was nothing spoken so he continued.

"An old guy in faded fatigues stopped by my car and wanted to chat. He seemed to sense which house I was checking out and gave me some information over and above what I could dig up.

It seems that the mother, Mary Morrison is quite the loner, keeping to herself and never, and I mean never talking to her neighbors. She doesn't spend any time in the yard and quite frankly, it shows.

This guy mentioned that she is widowed with one living son and one deceased son. She appears to be extremely hard on the living son and never gives him credit for anything.

He said that a number of the neighbors had tried to hire the son to paint their properties, but she demanded the money up front and in cash, to her.

The general opinion on the street is that she's a couple bricks short of a load and getting worse by the day."

He stopped talking.

Ranger spoke into the phone.

"Our information had the deceased son heavily involved in gangs. Anything come up with that?"

Hannibal shook his head.

"I didn't see any kind of activity that way. Were you wondering if maybe momma still had a way of communicating, like a den mother with a difference?"

Ranger almost smiled at the suggestion. A gang den mother?

"Yeah, I can see your point. Appreciate the time you spent and the info, Giggles. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Hannibal smiled to himself. He had done his job and Ranger was thanking him for the work he'd done.

"Well, as a matter of fact, I'm kinda between jobs right now."

He waited as Ranger spoke.

"I've heard that there's a couple of openings on a job starting soon. Are you interested?"

Hannibal tried to keep his voice calm as he answered. "I might be."

Ranger pressed some keys on his computer and spoke.

"You should be hearing about something soon, very soon."

They both hung up.

Hannibal looked at his phone.

"Thanks Ranger. You always looked after your men."

~~~o0o~~~

Larry was sitting on the examination table in Bobby's infirmary. He was only dressed in his boxers and he was looking a little chilled. Cal was standing just inside the door and Aaron was outside the room, in the hallway.

Before the men had come down, Bobby had very carefully checked out his infirmary removing anything that could be used as a weapon. Scalpels and syringes were always safely locked away in drawers hidden from sight and different sprays and antibiotics were hidden from view in a cabinet with a padlock.

Larry was sitting with his legs hanging down and there was a number of pads on his chest attached to a monitor. He was sitting very still and from the pallor on his face, Bobby was wondering how he handled being near blood, or when any medical procedure was performed on him. He was quite prepared to push him down onto the table if he looked like he was going to faint, but with Bobby talking calmly he was hanging on. Bobby had checked his leg reflexes, his ears and throat. He had felt the glands in his neck, used his stethoscope to check his lungs and his flashlight checking under his eyelids. A tongue dispenser was now in the garbage after checking down his throat. He had noticed the furtive sidelong glances Larry was giving Cal. That tattoo on his forehead seemed to both bother and intrigue Larry.

Bobby spoke as he worked. "Are you feeling better now with some food in you and back on your meds?"

Larry nodded. He had given permission for whatever tests they wanted to perform. Deep down, he knew that he hadn't been taking care of himself and that these men were only trying to help. Lord knew, they all looked very healthy and even happy with their gruff demeanors. It looked like a well-run and very healthy company.

"Whoever prepares the food, it's almost like they knew what I liked. I don't get many vegetables. Mother said they are too expensive on her pension and if I wanted them, I had to find a way to get them."

Bobby nodded as he took another vial of blood. Keeping Larry talking and dwelling on something else besides what he was doing was working so far.

Cal received a beep on his phone and pulling it out of the holster, he looked at the message.

As Bobby finished his task, Cal handed over the phone for him to see. Bobby shook his head and then nodded for him to take his place back by the door, keeping his phone.

"We received a call from the desk clerk at your motel. There is someone asking for you. Can you tell me if this is someone you know?"

The monitor began to show an upward trend. Bobby looked at Larry with some concern. He hadn't even looked at the photo and something was starting to set him off.

Larry took one glance and his face lost all its color.

Bobby threw the phone back at Cal and pushed Larry to lay down on the bed. He electrically raised the head of the bed so that Larry was laying down but with his head and chest raised slightly.

"Hey, man, you need to calm down. You are safe here and whoever that is doesn't know where you are."

Larry was visibly shaking and he was almost beginning to gasp for air. Bobby reached up to grab a mask and administer oxygen when Larry stopped him.

"Oh God, that's mother. She came to find out what's going on. I don't want to see her, I don't want her to know where I am, and I certainly don't want your Stephanie near her."

He then accepted the oxygen mask, but his eyes were showing almost terror. Was it his mother who was scaring him, was it the mask, or was it something else?

Bobby pulled a white blanket from a drawer under the table and covered Larry since he was shaking so badly. He then stepped back, nodded at Cal to keep an eye on him and headed out the door to his office. He phoned Ranger and related what had happened.

Ranger picked up his house phone, pressed Tank's number and spoke one word into the receiver then hung up. Tank materialized at the door. Ranger put his cell phone on speaker and the three of them began to discuss the situation.

Tank murmured, "Mommy Dearest it appears, has arrived."

Ranger spoke to Bobby. "Is he well enough to go back in his room or do we need to keep him in your clinic?"

Bobby peeked out the door at Larry just lying there under the blanket. He was shivering less and was starting to breathe a bit better.

"I think I should keep him here for a bit longer. I have men both inside the room and outside the door, so he's certainly not going anywhere."

They tossed back and forth reasons to keep him, or send him back and decided that an hour or so wouldn't hurt anybody. Shift change was coming up soon and two more men would be assigned.

Tank pulled out his phone and contacted the control room.

"Two men to replace the two at Bobby's infirmary. Instruct them the patient is not to leave unless given the OK by one of the Core Team."

He hung up then looked at Ranger.

"And the plan is….?"

Ranger looked at the photo that had come to his phone from the vehicle outside the motel.

"All we have is hearsay, and really nothing to involve either us or TPD at the present time."

Tank nodded his head.

They talked back and forth before making a decision.

"She signed for the room for one night. Larry has the room booked until tomorrow also. Running her information, I highly doubt she has enough left on her limit for another night, so I assume that she will move out. What say we ask Larry what he wants us to do? We can't keep him here indefinitely unless we change his accommodations to an apartment on four."

Decision made, Ranger phoned down to Bobby.

"Is he recovered enough to head back down?"

Bobby looked at his patient. He had fallen asleep on the table but his face was screwed up a bit as if concerned.

"Yeah, he could go down."

Just then Stephanie stepped into Rangers' office and in her hand were more sheets of paper.

"Would I be able to talk to Larry again? I just found some information and maybe he can shed some light on what I found."

Tank looked at Ranger and they were both thinking the same thing. If she headed down, at least he was still under medical care. At the same time, he was recovering from seeing his mother at the motel and it looked like he was deathly afraid of her. Too many surprises all at once and they would get nothing further if he deteriorated and needed more medical intervention than they were prepared for.

On the other hand, maybe this whole situation would be solved sooner and then RangeMan could return to normal.

Ranger looked at Tank and it looked like they were mentally discussing the matter.

Stephanie looked from one to another.

Ranger finally looked at Stephanie.

"Babe, he's down in Bobby's clinic right now and he was having some tests done to see how he's doing. Unfortunately it appears that his mother has just arrived at the motel looking for her son."

He looked at her. "Since he's already on observation status, you can go down, but both Bobby and whoever is in the room will stay. Need I remind you that you are not to go outside RangeMan without an escort? I'm starting to believe that this lady is the dangerous one here. I wouldn't put it past her to track you down and try to disappear with you. You are her only offspring of her deceased son, and she could be wanting to relive the past, just with you now in it."

Stephanie looked at her husband and her mouth was literally open.

"Can I see the picture?"

Ranger handed over his phone and Stephanie looked at it. This was her birth grandmother. She tried to feel something but deep down she knew it was just a name at best. Her family was down the street in the Burg and she wanted to keep it that way. On the other hand, did she want to meet her and ask her questions? Maybe a quick conversation?