Unapologize
By: PricklySare
A/N: General disclaimers. Lalalalala. Thanks to all the reviews you guys have left! You're amazing. :) Big thanks go out to the M's and Stayce. Without you guys this would have ended up a short story. LOL. I'm kidding...kind of. :)
Sare
Chapter 30: Lester Sees Red
LESTER'S POV:
Tank answered his phone with a gruff, "Talk." His face went blank and my gut was telling me it had to do with Steph. She'd been gone for two days and I hadn't gotten more than an hour of sleep that whole time. My nerves were drawing tighter, threatening to snap under the strain, and I took a calming breath, letting it out through my nose. I couldn't hear anything the caller was saying, and I didn't get much from Tank's side, either. The occasional, "yes", and "no" really didn't give me a lot to go on, and my frustration was growing with each minute he was on the phone.
"Why should I believe anything you're saying? You haven't even told me who you are," Tank's voice was all business. "Should I be impressed?" he asked, sarcasm dripping from the words. "Fine. One hour," he said and hung up the phone.
"Steph?" I asked, hoping for some good news.
"That was Agent Cassidy with Homeland Security. Apparently he has some information on Bombshell that he thinks might be useful to us."
"What kind of information? And what does Homeland Security have to do with Steph's disappearance?" I asked. That woman got caught up in some of the craziest shit imaginable. She couldn't even go to the beach without something going FUBAR. I swear I'd aged ten years in the last two days, and once again I wondered how the hell Ranger survived her.
Tank ran his hand over his bald head and looked at Bobby and me, "He said to meet him at the SSPD."
"SSPD? That little shithole station we went to looking for information on Steph?" Bobby asked. Tank just nodded his head.
"If that dumbass motherfucker was lying to us, I'm going to hunt his ass down and give him a bad donut in a dark alley," I said standing up. "Looks like we're heading to Shifting Sands, then," I said heading for the office door.
"Let's gear up and go find our girl," Tank said opening the door and walking out.
It was a little after eight o'clock when we pulled into the parking lot of the SSPD, and a large man with jet black hair and mirrored shades walked over to our SUV. My hand twitched toward the butt of my gun, as did Tank's. From the backseat Bobby said, "I'm guessing this is Cassidy, or else they've hired a welcoming committee."
"They didn't do a very good job then. I'd prefer someone with different tools, personally," Tank said.
Personally, I'd just rather have Steph safe, but that was just me. We opened our doors and unfolded ourselves from the vehicle, waiting for Agent Cassidy to reach us. He was tall and built like he could cause some pain; if he wasn't involved in this I'd say he'd fit in at Rangeman. Of course, since he was involved in this somehow, I already hated him. It didn't help that he looked like a fed. I hated feds on principle. I folded my arms across my chest and leaned against the side of the SUV. I couldn't see his eyes behind his shades, but then again, he couldn't see mine either.
"You must be Tank," he said as he came to a stop in front of us. "I've heard a lot about you."
"I doubt that, Agent Cassidy," Tank replied. "Now, enough with the niceties. What do you have for us?" Agent Cassidy was not a small man, but next to Tank he looked like a second grader; though in all fairness he didn't seem the least bit impressed or intimidated by Tank's size.
"I know you've been looking for Ms. Plum for the past few days, and I think I can help you find her," he said, his voice betraying nothing.
"How exactly did you know we were searching for her?" I asked him, drawing his attention to me. We were fairly evenly matched in size and probably in strength as well, but I was willing to bet I could still take him in a fight. I widened my stance some while I waited for his answer.
"You must be Santos," he said. "How I know is not important. I with Homeland Security, there is very little that we don't know. Now, what's important is that you locate her quickly, and that she is taken some place safe."
My gut clenched at his words. She was in danger. Goddamnsonofabitch. "Then let's stop playing slap and tickle and go find her, we'll keep her safe," I said.
Cassidy looked at me for a long while before turning back to Tank. At that moment I didn't care that he had information on Steph, I just wanted to tear him apart. I realized that Tank was the one in charge, but Steph was my responsibility. She was my best friend and I needed to find her. I felt like he was shutting me out, and I didn't like that. When Bobby put his hand on my shoulder I realized I'd been clenching my fists and concentrated on slowly relaxing my muscles. I needed to get a grip.
"She's inside," he said. "Or at least she was at three AM."
"Excuse me?" Tank asked. "Did you just say she's inside?" I could hear the anger vibrating in his voice, but I could guarantee it was nothing compared to what I was feeling. She was here the whole time. She was inside right now, and we were standing around here with our cocks hanging out.
"If she's in there, then why the fuck are we out here?" I asked stepping toward him.
"Back off, Santos. I'm not your enemy."
"Could have fucking fooled me," I growled.
"Look," Cassidy said. "She was arrested two days ago for a murder that I don't believe she committed."
"If she was arrested she would have called us," Tank said. "We never heard from her. She didn't even contact the control room."
"The officer, and I use that term loosely, in charge of the investigation is worse than most criminals. I didn't trust him when I met him, so I did some digging, and what I found made my skin crawl," he said handing Tank a file folder. Tank flipped through the file, his eyes scanning the contents and I could feel anger radiating off of him. His face was blank of any emotion, but he hands were clenched tightly around the edges of the file.
"Lester. Brown," he said, handing the file to me. "Read it quickly. We need to move." Bobby came shoulder to shoulder with me as I opened the folder and started reading the information it contained. I honestly didn't know how Bobby was reacting, because I'd lost my ability to think clearly, and I was seeing everything with a red haze. Somewhere in the back of my mind I could hear Ranger telling me to focus, that emotions could get you killed, and that they weren't going to help Steph. I really wanted to punch his voice in the face. What would you know about emotions, Ranger? You wouldn't know emotions if they bit you in your black clad ass.
"Santos!" Tank's voice cut through my inner tirade and I looked at my reflection in his glasses. My face was blank, but I knew that if my eyes weren't covered he'd be able to see the anger I was feeling in every nerve of my body. "You ready to go get our girl?" he asked me.
"Let's bring her home, but leave the limp prick to me. I made a promise, and I always keep my promises," I said as I headed toward the front doors, ready to beard the lion.
We stalked into the station like an invading force. Steph was inside, and we were getting her out, regardless of who we had to flatten to do it. The cop manning the desk looked to be about one hundred and ten, and blind as a bat. I'm not even sure he realized we were there until Cassidy rapped his fist on the counter in front of him. Grandpa looked up at us through squinted eyes and trifocals and I had a moment of worry that he would have a heart attack. Then I pushed it away. I didn't care about anyone but Steph. The rest of the people at this station could rot.
Cassidy looked at the old man, never removing his glasses and said, "We're here to see Stephanie Plum."
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't let you see her," he said. Tank, Bobby and I moved in closer, flanking Cassidy around the little man, making our presence known.
"I'm sorry, but you don't have a choice," Cassidy said, his voice deceptively soft.
"How do you figure?" the old man asked, leaning back in his chair, and scratching his large, round stomach.
"I'm Agent Cassidy with Homeland Security, and these papers give me the authority to remove Ms. Plum from this location, as well as from the custody of the Shifting Sands Police Department. I'm officially in charge now, so I suggest you get off your geriatric ass, and take us to Ms. Plum."
I wasn't sure who was in more shock, Grandpa or us. I looked from Tank to Bobby and I knew they were thinking the same thing. What the fuck did Cassidy mean that he was in charge, and how the fuck did he pull this off? Even though I was worried about Steph, and wanted nothing more than to get to her and take her back to Rangeman, I couldn't help but be a little impressed by Agent Cassidy. I still didn't like him though.
Grandpa stood up slowly, and I swear I could hear his bones creaking as he said, "Let me see those. I'm not just going to trust some gussied up young city boy, just because he's pretty." I wanted desperately to laugh at the 'pretty' comment, but I kept my bearings by sheer force of will. At least I still had that, even if I was losing my goddamn mind.
Cassidy handed the documents to the old man and leaned nonchalantly against the counter, hip cocked in a negligent fashion. He was showing the old man that he wasn't worried, and he knew he was going to get his way. After a few minutes Cassidy finally said, "I'm assuming they're all in order, and you're just a slow reader, or else you're purposely dragging your feet and wasting my time," Cassidy removed his glasses for the first time and stared into the old man's watery eyes. "If you're wasting my time, I guarantee that it's a very bad idea." His voice was like steel, hard and unyielding. He meant business and he was going to get his way. He suddenly reminded me of Ranger, and I wondered for the first time what he was doing here.
With something that sounded like a sigh Grandpa grabbed a ring of keys out of a lock box mounted to the wall behind him and motioned for us to follow him saying, "Are you expecting an engraved invitation, because you ain't gonna get one from me." The four of us followed him through the narrow door to where the holding cells were. Cassidy, Bobby, and I had to duck to get through the door way, Tank barely managed to squeeze his massive body through, having to turn sideways in order for his shoulders to clear the metal arch.
"Damn, they sure make shit small," he grumbled as we followed Grandpa down a gray cement walkway. The walkway reminded me of a hundred others I'd seen in my life. A few of them, where my hands were the ones cuffed. I'd done a lot of fucked up shit in my life; in that time before Ranger kicked my ass, demanding that I make something of myself; when he was still known as Ricky, and didn't block off his emotions from the world.
I forced my mind back to the here and now, locking away my memories of the past like you would pictures in an attic. Now was not the time to start being sentimental, the past was the past and there was nothing I could do that would change it. We'd stopped in front of a holding cell and I could see Steph lying on the single tiny cot, her hair spread out around her in a wild tangle of curls. I felt my body slowly begin to relax. We'd found her, thank you every holy fucking thing. "Hey, Beautiful," I called. "We're here to break you out. The Cavalry has finally arrived." Steph didn't move, or even make a sound. I knew that she was a heavy sleeper, but I also knew there was no way she'd feel safe enough to sleep that deeply here. Something wasn't right.
"Open it," I commanded. From where I was standing on the opposite side of the bars, I could see bruises on her face, and a split lip that had begun to heal. The bars still hadn't moved and I looked over at the old man, every muscle in my body tense. "I said, open it. Now." The old man rushed to get the key in the lock to open it and I focused my attention back on Steph's unmoving body. Tank placed his massive hand on one shoulder, while Bobby placed his on the other, giving me support and strength. They had my back.
The second the bars slid open I was at Steph's side, checking her injuries. "What the fuck happened to her?" I asked no one in particular. "She's hurt and I want an explanation." I lightly slapped her cheeks but didn't get a response. Come on, Beautiful, wake up. She's fucking unconscious, did you know about this Cassidy?" I asked, my voice nothing more than a growl. I was ready to rip the place apart. "It's been said, that pain builds character, well, I promise you that the person who did this to Steph will have so much character that he won't know what the fuck to do with himself. Just point him out to me."
"Shit," Cassidy said. "She didn't look like that the last time I saw her. She had the split lip and a bruise on her cheek, but nothing like this. What the hell did that bastard do to her?"
"That's what I want to know, Cassidy," I said. He shook his head and I noticed that his fists were clenched. Good, he was pissed too, I watched as he turned around and walked out of the cell back toward the front of the station.
"Jesus Christ, Bombshell," Tank whispered as he came over to her, tucking a curl behind her ear. "Bobby, check her out, make sure she's okay."
"I need to grab my bag from the SUV." I watched Tank nod his head at the old man, and he headed back to the front of the station, Bobby herding him along.
I knew she probably had a concussion, and was worried about her not waking back up. There was a huge knot on the back of her head, and it was covered in dried blood; her hair matted around it. She was going to be pissed when she realized the condition of her hair. I carefully slid her back onto the cot and stood up. I was beyond angry. Angry would be calm compared to what I was. I wanted to level this place and everyone in it. I was in the perfect frame of mind to demolish and over throw a third world country. Any third world country and I was aching for a fight. I'd prefer if that fight was with Ranger, but the ass wasn't here. No, he was off playing in some fucking third world country while the woman we love was lying here unconscious.
"What the Hell is wrong with her? Why is she unconscious?" Tank asked, his voice deep with worry, and tinged with anger.
I paced back and forth in the tiny cell before leaning over and touching her face, "Beautiful, you've got to wake up. Please, Beautiful. Please," I said, knowing I was begging, but not caring. I'm not sure how long I sat there next to her, just touching her cheek praying that she'd wake up. I know I participated in the conversation, but I was in a haze.
When Steph finally opened her eyes I felt a weight lift off my chest, but the haze was still there. I was still on autopilot. I had one thought on my mind, and one thought only. I was going to find the motherfucker who'd done this to her, and I was going to make him wish his mother hadn't carried him to term. I knew Steph was alright, pissed off, and ready to kill him herself, but alright. I wasn't going to let her do that. That pleasure was going to be all mine. Ranger may have been the first person to kill for her, but he wouldn't be the last. Lester Santos didn't take kindly to people hurting the people he loved.
I heard Steph tell Bobby she wanted to go to the hospital and my gut clenched again. She shouldn't have to go through this again. She shouldn't have to wonder what was done to her. She should have been safe. My brain reengaged itself with my body when I heard Cassidy say, ""Miss Plum, I'm afraid that isn't possible."
"I beg your pardon? Why the hell not?" Steph asked, anger and pain coloring her words.
"Well, Miss Plum, you've been remanded to the custody of Homeland Security." I felt anger rise to the surface again. Goddamnmotherfucker! What the hell was wrong with this man?
"Agent Cassidy? I want my lawyer. Now." I'm sure that at a later date I will look back on this and not want to kill someone. Will look back on this and smile, knowing how strong Steph was. She was holding her own, and she was strong. I was so damn proud of her, but I just couldn't seem to focus on anything but what I needed to do. I was a man possessed. I'd just spent two of the worst days of my life, scared out of my mind, and worried sick about some girl I couldn't even touch. Why? Because I'd fucking fallen in love with her. Lester Santos, man whore, fell in love with his cousin's woman, and now I needed to kill someone. Where's an army of insurgents when you needed one?
1 Prompt: BS Challenge
Words: 3187 without title, or A/N