Pino's hit the spot, and I felt a thousand times better. We had decided that returning to Rangeman would be the safest thing to do. I knew, because I was still healing, that I wasn't going to be assisting in anything on the ground. After packing up a small overnight bag, we headed out.
The core team was already waiting in the conference room when we arrived. After being greeted by them, I took my seat by Ranger at the end of the conference table.
"Ranger, with the information that Diesel provided it's going to be a shit storm." Ram spoke first, pointing a remote to the large screen that hung at the end of the room. The screen flickered to life, showing the target building in real time. "We know their weaknesses, but they have some serious fire power."
"I think hitting them hard and fast from the air will be the best option." Ranger stood and tapped the top of the screen by the tree line that surrounded the property. "Any news from Thickman?"
"He's got a bird for us, but he wants to come play." Bobby smiled. "It'll get us over the target, but we need to disable the security systems. The only way to do that is to be on the ground."
"I can do that." Diesel leaned back into his chair. "Wolf and I can pop in there and up the cameras on a loop. They won't even know what happened."
"So, we are going to jump in I'm assuming." Tank grumbled. "I fucking hate jumping."
"It'll be over quick enough." Ranger smiled. "I say tonight shortly after dark we strike. We can't risk sitting around waiting. Bobby, tell Thickman to come ASAP. He can maneuver quietly through the trees, and then wait for pickup."
"Let's get our gear together, and take a breather before we go." Tank stood and put his hands on his hips. "This is an extraction. We don't want any more bodies than necessary. Disable the security, gather the target and immobilize any troops we come across."
"Alright, team." Ranger stood too. "Meet at the garage at zero one."
"Stephanie?" Diesel put his hand on my shoulder. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure."
He placed his hand on the small of my back and lead me over to the break room. It was empty. We sat down at a Formica table and he sighed heavily.
"Steph, I'm sorry that you got caught up in all this shit." He took my hand. "I want you to understand why this happened."
I nodded, biting my lip. Diesel was not the serious type.
"I guess that my friendship with you has kind of made its rounds within the Unmentionable community. Actually, it kind of has its own cult following." He chuckled.
"Cult following? What are you? The Justin Bieber of the supernatural world?"
"Well, not exactly." His voice sang a tune that meant more than likely yes. "You see, I kind of have a reputation. Not a bad one, just a known one. I get shit done that no one else can. Mostly because I have an unusual set of powers."
"What kind of powers do you have exactly?" I arched my eyebrow.
"I can unlock anything, but you know that. I can remove powers, which I am pretty sure you know as well." He waited for my acknowledgement before he continued. "But I can also teleport without any real restriction. Most Unmentionables can travel at least short distances and have issues when they travel over supernatural spaces. I, on the other hand, don't have that problem. I go where I want, when I want."
"I completely believe that part." I laughed. Diesel always had a way with arriving and departing with little to no explanation of how he got there. "So, how far can you travel?"
"I don't know." He shrugged, turning my hand over and tracing the lines of my palm. "I can go as far as I have ever needed to without any repercussions. It doesn't drain me, or take from my other abilities."
"That has to be helpful. I bet that saves you a lot of money on gas and air travel."
"I like to drive, and flying only when I have to. Mostly I will only fly if I am carrying someone with me that is too heavy for me to carry comfortably or if it's a private plane. I like cushy shit."
"Somehow that doesn't surprise me." I giggled. Diesel has always been laid-back and care-free. I don't blame him, honestly. I just wish I could afford the same luxury. "So I am basically guilty by association?"
"Exactly." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, making it stand on end in a very sexy just crawled out of bed kind of way. "I am going to fix this, Steph."
"I know." I pulled him against me into a hug and could feel the tightness and his body give a little. "I have complete faith in you and the guys. I just wish there was more that I could do, but I know that I will only get in the way or end up causing more harm than good."
"You do more good than you give yourself credit for, Kiddo." He kissed my forehead and sighed heavily. "Let's get this show on the road."
Strolling out of the break room, we were greeted with a dozen men armed to the teeth and ready to fight. Lester was bouncing on the balls of his feet and rubbing his hands together while Bobby was standing completely still staring off into space. Hal, Zip and Cal were rechecking their gear and Tank was sitting on his phone playing Angry Birds.
It was amazing to see these men get ready for a fight. Some, like Bobby, were silent and stoic, some have so much nervous energy that they can't sit still and some just go about like nothing is happening. Ranger was a mixture of all of them.
He stood leaning up against the wall by his office, one foot flat on the floor and the other twitching against the floor. He methodically checked each of this weapons and gear before crossing his arms across his chest and closing his eyes. If someone who didn't know him saw him like this, they wouldn't think, other than the tapping of his foot, he looked as if he was calm as could be. For me, I noticed how his jaw clenched and unclenched and how his eyes were flickering behind his closed lids as if he was going over every planned move repeatedly.
Diesel had joined the guys in gearing up, but I stood watching Ranger. I couldn't help but to smile at his foot ticking away at a beat on the concrete floor. As I watched, he seemed to almost shiver and rubbed the back of his neck. His eyes opened and he smiled when he saw me.
"Babe." He mouthed, pushing off from the wall and meeting me where I stood. Reaching out he pulled me into his body for a gentle embrace. "How are you feeling?" His voice was soft against my ear.
"Not too bad." I snuggled into his chest and breathed in his scent. "I am sore, but that is to be expected."
"Are you going to want to wait down here in the COM room, or would you rather go up to the apartment?"He leaned back, putting space between us, and pushed back some curls that had fallen into my face.
"I don't want to be alone." I all but whispered, casting my eyes to the floor. Ranger tipped my chin up with his fingers and smiled.
"You will never be alone, Babe." He kissed my lips softly. "We still have men on the monitors and available for clients as well as the normal security team for the building. Binkie and Zero are going to be staying here with you."
"How confident are you in this?" I didn't doubt Ranger or his men's abilities, but the fact that they were going up against an Unmentionable did have me worried.
"Stephanie." He took my face between his hands and looked into my eyes. "I swear to you that no one and nothing will take me away from you. I would claw my way out of hell to be with you."
"That seems extreme." I smiled and he winked.
"I am very confident that between my men, Diesel, and his men we will have no problem successfully maneuvering this mission." He laughed when I rolled my eyes. "It's not as bad as it seems. Plus, you forget…I never lose."
"You better not." I teased, poking at him. "Cause otherwise I will have to pick between one of the Merry Men for my new man. Or maybe Diesel?" I put a finger to my chin.
"That's just cruel." Ranger laughed again and pulled me into a bone-melting kiss that left me almost panting. "Don't go crazy, Babe."
"Don't get shot, Ranger."
He held me for a moment before kissing my forehead and turning to his men.
"Let's roll out!" He called, heading towards the elevators. I was given a hug and kiss from every one of the men and I told them all to be safe and come home before they followed Ranger.
"Beautiful, you make sure that you stay safe while we are gone." Lester was the last, pulling me into a hug. "I can't have you running off half-cocked while we are out playing superheroes."
"I promise." I held on to him for a moment longer. "Please be safe, Lester."
"I'm always safe, Steph." He stepped back and looked me in the eyes. "We are all coming back. None of us are going to allow any of our brothers to get killed."
"I know." I sniffed and wiped away tears that were forming in the corners of my eyes. "I don't know what I would do if any of you…"
"I swear to you." He interrupted, cupping my cheek in his hand. "I swear on my life that Ranger will come back. All of us will come back."
"I will hold you to that you know." I laughed, a tear finally falling down my cheek. "Remember…be careful."
"And if you can't be careful…name it after me." He winked, placed a chaste kiss on my lips and followed after the guys.
I stood there well after they had all gone before Binkie came up to me. Without a word, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head. We stood in silence staring for a while before he broke the silence whispering.
"Recognizing that I volunteered as a Ranger, fully knowing the hazards of my chosen profession, I will always endeavor to uphold the prestige, honor, and high spirit de corps of the Rangers. Acknowledging the fact that a Ranger is a more elite Solider who arrives at the cutting edge of battle by land, sea or air, I accept the fact that as a Ranger my country expects m to move further, faster and fight harder than any other Solider." His voice was soft as he continued reciting. "Never shall I fail my comrades. I will always keep myself mentally alert, physically strong and morally straight and I will shoulder more than my share of the task whatever it may be, one-hundred-percent and then some. Gallantly will I show the world that I am a specially selected and well-trained Solider. My courtesy to superior officers, neatness of dress and care of equipment shall set the example for others to follow."
I looked up at Binkie as he kept going, tears blurring my eyes.
"Energetically will I meet enemies of my country. I shall defeat them on their field of battle for I am better trained and will fight with all my might. Surrender is not a Ranger word. I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy and under no circumstances will I ever embarrass my country. Readily will I display the intestinal fortitude required to fight on to the Ranger Objective and complete the mission though I be the lone survivor." Binkie stopped for a moment, looked down at me and smiled. "Rangers lead the way."
***It's been a while since I updated. Hopefully, this will tide y'all over for a bit. The speech that Binkie gave is the Ranger's Creed. Every Ranger knows this Creed and can recite it anytime, anywhere, anyplace. They live by their words and are some of the most honorable people I have ever had the chance of meeting.***