Thank you for your thoughtful reviews. All mistakes are mine.
Chapter 20
Les slid to a stop by the elevator and Stephanie jumped out of the SUV. He continued to the first available space in the garage and parked. He'd take the stairs and head upstairs. Stephanie raced to the elevator that was open and walked in. Pressing 5 she paced back and forth in the small enclosure.
Thankfully the elevator was fast and she stepped out, looking immediately to Rangers' door. It was open and she headed that way.
Tank was coming out of his office and she detoured to him, handing him the new files.
"I was just at the bond office and brought these back for us. As a matter of fact, do you have a minute? I just learned something that I think we need to know more about. I see Rangers' door is open and I hope he's in there."
Tank nodded and taking the entire pile in one large hand, he walked behind her to the doorway.
Stephanie knocked on the door jamb and waited as Ranger looked up from his mountain of paperwork.
"Please save me from this, Babe."
She walked in and headed for his side. Ranger pushed back his chair and she sat on his lap, giving him a soft kiss on the lips.
Looking back at Tank, she smiled. "Sorry Tank, no more PDA's!"
Tank grunted. Muttering about them getting a room, he headed for the chair in the room he liked.
Ranger looked at Stephanie.
"What's up, Babe?"
Stephanie had her arm around his neck, but putting it down by her side, she stood up and paced up and down the room marshalling her thoughts.
"Les and I went to the hospital and saw Grandma. She's doing so well in her rehab that the nurse thinks she's eligible to be released tomorrow. I'll talk to Mom and Dad and see who's picking her up and getting her back to her place."
Ranger nodded. He waited for Stephanie to walk out, but she started to pace again.
"I grabbed a box of donuts and headed to the bond office. I haven't seen the girls for a few days and thought I would hang out and spend some time there. I'd just walked in and Connie was on the phone arranging for a package to be sent to Philadelphia. I asked why she was working on an out-of-town bond and she said that Vinnie is all over this one. I guess the lady mentioned that her son has some comic books that he keeps hidden away. Connie mentioned that the lady was a real piece of work and even Vinnie had issues with her."
She looked at Ranger and spoke some more.
"Ranger, I wonder if the lady is Larry's mom."
Ranger put up his hand to stop her, took out his phone, pressed a button and spoke.
"Woody, go down and get Larry and bring him up here."
He pressed another button. "My office."
He hung up and they waited for the knock on the door.
Upon the order to 'Enter', the knob turned and four men stood in the doorway. Ranger nodded and Larry stepped in along with Les and Bobby. Woody turned as if to leave but Ranger spoke.
"Woody, come in. I know you have some knowledge about vintage comic books."
Woody looked surprised but stepped in, staying by the door.
Ranger looked at Larry. He certainly was looking better than when he'd first arrived. In his daily medical report Bobby had written that his meds were on track with his condition, he was eating better and Bobby had him on a careful regime in the gym.
"Mr. Morrison, Stephanie just heard something interesting and it might involve you."
Larry looked at Stephanie and he cleared his throat nervously.
Ranger looked at Stephanie and nodded for her to speak.
"I was at the bond office and heard one side of a phone call. It seems that my slimy cousin, Vinnie, owner of the Vincent Plum Bonds, was contacted and is planning on bailing out your mother. What was interesting is that she gave Vinnie a key to her house and he had it sent to a contact of his in Philadelphia."
Larry was standing there, confused. Stephanie continued.
"The office manager confirmed that the package won't be delivered to the contact until sometime tomorrow and he has permission to go into the house and find some comic books to be used as collateral for her bond."
Larry's face flushed and he shouted, "No!"
Everyone looked at him in surprise. He had never expressed anything so strongly since he had been brought to RangeMan.
He elaborated. "Those comic books are mine. I was given them by Dad. He'd been collecting them as a hobby and had stored them for literally decades. Dad gave Chuck a couple too, but he didn't want them and sold them at some pawn shop for gas money."
He swallowed. "I held onto them remembering that they were the only things I got from him before he died. He'd always told me to look after them and keep them safe, and I would never regret it."
He looked at Ranger.
"I kept them in a lock box at the bank, but when I had to move back home, I couldn't afford the rental so I just put them in a box under my bed in my room. I'm sure mother knew they were there."
He looked at Stephanie.
"That's my only remaining tie to Dad. I have no idea if they're worth anything or just something that he loved to collect. Dad bought comic books all the time. He loved superheroes."
He muttered.
"I have to get them out of there. It's really low down that she wants to use something of mine to get herself out of trouble."
Woody looked at Larry.
"I collect some comics, but mine aren't worth all that much. What kinds do you have?"
Larry looked at him. "Dad gave me some Superman and Wonder Woman. I know he thought they were interesting because he bought them and a bunch of them were in some kind of plastic wrap. "
Woody got a funny look on his face. "Did you ever look at them?"
Larry shook his head. "I don't read very well and just thought the covers were nice though."
Ranger looked at Tank and he nodded his head.
"So, Larry, are you up to a bit of a road trip to your place, like right now?" I don't think you can afford to wait on this, or whatever is under your bed will be in Vinnie's hands soon enough and you'll never see them again."
Larry slowly nodded his head.
"If we go, can I pack up some of my other stuff with the idea of never returning? I need to get out from under her thumb, and this looks like the perfect opportunity to do so."
Stephanie looked at Ranger. "I want to go too. I want to see this place."
They put together a plan and in just a short while everyone had made some adjustments to schedules or dates and what time they would be heading downstairs. Ranger and Stephanie were travelling in the Turbo; Larry, Woody, Les and Bobby were travelling in a brown nondescript sedan that was stored in the corner of the RangeMan garage.
Larry looked a bit shaky and Bobby took him to his office to check him out. The blood pressure cuff was on his arm and he was laying down on the bed. Bobby moved around the room, letting him relax and settle down when Larry began to speak.
"Dad was a nice guy, but with Mother it got harder and harder for him to live with her. With Chuck dying in prison, well she kind of went off the deep end, literally closing off his room and not letting anybody in there. Dad worked hard all his life and was wanting to retire, but the thought of spending all day near her made him change his plans and he worked way past where he should have."
Larry sighed. "He had a heart attack on his way home from work and passed away without regaining consciousness. Mother didn't want the expense of a full-blown funeral, so only had a visitation then cremation. I know that a lot of people wanted to express their condolences but with no ceremony, well, it seemed like she just threw him away."
Bobby walked to the bed and put his hand on Larry's arm. "I know its little comfort, but people do strange things in the name of grief. It sounds like he was a great dad to have and the fact that he cared for you enough to save those comic books for you was a testament of his love."
Larry nodded that he understood.
"I talked to my Nancy and wished her a Happy Birthday. She wants me to get there and we can be a family again. I talked to my boys and they told me that one is getting good in soccer and the other one wants to be a doctor. It takes a lot of money to be a doctor, right?"
Bobby nodded his head.
Bobby got a call and responded with a few short words and a 'Roger', then looked at Larry. "It's time. Ella packed you a small bag."
Larry nodded then blurted out. "We have possibly the nosiest neighbors ever. Won't they be suspicious with a bunch of us showing up at the house?"
That's when Bobby smiled. "We have a vehicle here that shouldn't attract attention. You, Woody, Les and I will go down in that, then we'll stop at the rental office. You and Woody will continue in the car and park in the driveway. Hopefully, any nosy neighbors will be sleeping or will think that you're back home with friends and staying there. That should give us time to get together all that you want to take, then load the truck really late."
He elaborated some more. "We'll pack it up and head back here, but we've also booked a room at a motel so that you can rest and come back tomorrow with Woody in the car. Les and I will drive it back later tonight."
Larry looked at Bobby. "That's a lot of planning. You guys seem really good at this."
Bobby grinned. "In our line of work, we're used to something popping up, and we're also prepared for any FUBAR's along the way. Stephanie sometimes has things happen that are not even her fault and we have to be fast to control a situation. It keeps us thinking, let me tell you!"
Larry looked at him. It sounded like there were stories in that statement. It might be interesting to hear a couple of them. Maybe they would elaborate on the drive down?
~~~o0o~~~
Stephanie watched as the Core Team made their plans. She never ceased to be amazed at how they could get a plan together with so few details and work it out, including any possible problems.
Les and Woody left. Bobby and Larry had already disappeared down to Bobby's area to check out Larry. He had looked a bit off at the news and Bobby wanted to keep an eye on him.
Ranger, Stephanie and Tank were the only ones left in the office.
Stephanie headed to Ranger and he put his arms around her and hugged her close. She looked up and he looked down, giving her a soft kiss, then another, and another.
Tank stomped to the door. Opening it, he looked back, and mumbled, "Damn newlyweds," and walked out, closing the door behind him.
Stephanie looked at her husband and chuckled. "Will Tank ever get over us eloping without telling him and leaving him to run the office?"
Ranger shook his head no. "He promised that as soon as we get all this newlywed shit out of our systems, he plans on taking me to the mats for leaving him here. I'm pretty sure I did mention that he would be waiting a long time, because we plan to act like newlyweds for a long, long time."
Stephanie murmured. "Damn skippy!"
~~~o0o~~~
They had waited and wanted to leave so that they would arrive after midnight. Stephanie looked around at the number of people in the garage standing around getting ready to leave. "Ranger? Are we expecting problems?"
Ranger looked around.
"Babe, you and I are taking the turbo because I thought that we might stay a bit longer so that you can check out some things. Woody and Larry will drive up to the house in the car and park in the driveway. If their neighbors are even half as nosy as your parents' neighbors, anyone driving up will elicit some attention, and if they see only Larry and Woody in that car, they might think all is fine. As for Les and Bobby, well, Larry gave the impression that he wants to clean out everything that's his, which means a vehicle able to handle both furniture and clothes. I've arranged a rental truck in Philadelphia and Les and Bobby will drive that back later tonight. Just in case it's a bit too much for Larry to handle, I also rented a motel room for them to spend the night then head back tomorrow."
Stephanie nodded her head and agreed with the explanation. Of course Ranger would have looked at the whole scenario.
Tank stood by the garage stairway door as they drove out. He would keep everything running and deal with any issues. If they could pull it off, maybe they could give Larry a helping hand to get his life back on track.
While it was currently quiet on the security front, with Les and Bobby returning, Tank could handle the situation until they returned if all hell broke loose for some reason.
It sounded like a good plan. So, what could go wrong?
