Disclaimer: I am not making any money from this, I promise.
My grateful thanks to JE for her wonderful characters, which I hope I haven't damaged too much.
Sorry for the wait, but we've had a bad cold snap where I am and I can't sit here when it's too cold! My brain cells need the heat it would appear. I hope it was worth it.
I am really missing my muse just now. I really need to capture a new one.
Thanks to my readers and reviewers, you are stars!
Enjoy
Valzie
Dangerous Ground Part 6
Ranger's POV
This has to be done; there are no two ways about it. I can't be seen to show any sign of weakness right now or I'll be signing our death warrants. This conversation is being routed through the control room; all of Rangeman is listening avidly to my next words.
"Nothing to say in your defence?" I ask him
He shakes his head "I screwed up and almost got her killed, I deserve whatever you have planned for me"
I know it wasn't his fault, but there has to be an object lesson and like it or not, he's it.
"Make it look like an accident, don't dump me in the gutter like a dog" his voice betrays none of the fear he must be feeling and I feel a surge of sympathy. "You owe me that much"
"Do I?" I ask round the lump in my throat and my finger tightens on the trigger and as my projectile hits its target I snap the phone closed.
Tank's POV
I knew what was coming and I still leapt in my seat when the shot echoed across the control room. I caught Mel's eye as the phone suddenly cut off and she couldn't hide her shock. It's done and whether I agree with his actions or not I have a job to do.
Ram's POV
Man what was I drinking last night? My head feels like it's twice the size and I can't even get my eyes to open. I can hear a woman's voice asking me if I'm all right, man where did I pass out? I haven't been on this sort of bender for years, not since the night that I found Amy with that bastard and I found myself sleeping the sleep of the seriously drunk on the floor of a bus in the terminus.
I finally force them open and a sharp light pierces them and forces them closed again. "Whoa" I exclaim, moving a hand up to shield them from the beam that I can still see dancing on my retinas.
"Ram?" a hand roughly shakes my shoulder " Wake up" by the sound of her voice this isn't the first time she has asked me to do so. "Come on, first you don't take my number and now I find you passed out in my parking lot, what kind of a moron are you?"
Mona, so I'm at Papa's but if I was going out drinking why did I take the truck? You didn't, you came here for information and you got taken out by a senior, remember? That small niggling voice that sounds an awful lot like Mrs Giggs my second grade teacher, the one that hated me. "Mona" I find my voice and I sound weaker than a kitten. "Help me"
"Ram, what's wrong?" she asks.
"I need to get to Haywood"
Bobby's POV
Her silence is deafening, her stillness frightening. The only movements are her eyelids as they close and release a fresh wave of the tears that are tracking their way down her too pale face. She heard the shot, we all did and she hasn't spoken since. She won't even let me touch her; she backed away from me and is sitting with her spine firmly pressed against the wall in the furthest corner of the room as if she's trying to push her way through.
I can almost feel the welter of thoughts and emotions that she's experiencing and it's killing me too. I don't think that even they can survive this, having the man who purports to love you execute one of his best friends for something that wasn't his fault would shatter any relationship, but Adam and Stephanie had become so close, she was the one person in his Universe that he trusted implicitly.
She feels like she failed him, I know she does because I feel that way too. He didn't deserve to die like that. I hear it then, the dam has finally broken, she lets out a single shuddering breath and she whispers in a strangled tone "Bobby" and I'm there, surrounding her, rocking her gently back and forth as she tries to come to terms with the terrifying turn that this day has taken.
Mel's POV
This puts a new complexion on my business here. I hadn't realised that Manoso was quite this ruthless. This means that he won't be as easy to manipulate as I thought and that changes a few things. I need to let someone know that it's all gone pear shaped on us and that a rethink is required. I rise and slip on my jacket and I can feel Tank's eyes on me. "I'm gonna get some air" I tell him with what I hope is a reassuring smile.
"Sure" he nods and returns to work, totally unconcerned that his best friend just killed someone. Maybe it wasn't just Manoso that we underestimated.
We thought that getting what we wanted from them was going to be easy, now I'm not so sure. If only Morelli's cover hadn't been blown by that scum bag then this would be over already. Our hastily conceived plan isn't working; they never do as Plan B always sucks.
I exit the building and cross the street and go round the corner to the small coffee stand, grab a latte and dial. "Hey" his voice is all velvet and heat and I smile despite all the problems.
"He just terminated Adam" I tell him, unable to keep the fear and worry out of my voice. "And we all had to listen to it"
"Fuck" was the only answer he gave me, truth be told, it's the only one I expected.
"What now?" I ask.
"Let me think" he tells me and I smile again at the aura of supreme confidence that he always gives off.
Tank's POV
My mobile phone rings and I absent mindedly pick it up. "Yo" it's a statement and a question.
"I'm bringing him back; we'll be there in ten"
"Understood" I close the connection before he gets the chance to say anything else. I don't need to hear it, I'll get us through this and then I'm out of here. I just found out what the penalty is for failure and I don't think it's one I want to face, ever. I'm not afraid to die, but I won't let him put me out of my misery like that.
The phone goes off again and this time I look at the caller ID.
"Where the fuck have you been?" I growl.
"Tank? It's Mona" she's anxious
"Mona?" I ask confused.
"I'm here with Ram, something happened to him and I've brought him to you. I'm outside, where do I park?"
"Hold on, I'll send someone to guide you in"
"Thank you"
I close the connection and contact Chrome, tell him to take Binky and head out to pick Ram up.
Ranger's POV
Lester is looking at me like he doesn't know who I am anymore and to be honest I can't blame him. I am struggling to recognise myself in all this. "You got something to say to me?" I ask, not really expecting an answer.
"There had to be another way" he spits at me.
"I couldn't see one" I tell him.
"Fuck Carlos, you are a cruel bastard, it's bad enough doing it, but making her listen" he shakes his head, this from the man who advised me to fuck and forget her? When did he start to care what she feels?
"Les" I start "I had to"
"No, I don't want to hear it" he crosses his arms and stares out of the window.
Bobby's POV
She's asleep or pretending to be, curled up with the comforter tucked in around her. Cal's gone out to get something to eat and I'm left here to watch and worry about her. I make a call.
"How is she?" he asks without preamble.
"How do you think?" I ask him. I watch as she takes in a deep breath as if trying to calm herself and I turn away from her, close the door behind me and walk to the room that Cal and I will share. "It's torn her heart out, what was he thinking?"
"I really don't know"
I hear a noise behind me and I turn, but there's nothing there and I turn back.
"She's not good; I don't think I've ever seen her this bad. He's lost her for sure this time"
"She's not the only one he's lost"
"That makes three of us"
"Just keep her safe"
"I will"
I end the call and put the phone back on my belt. I'll let her sleep for a while; wake her when Cal comes back.
Ram's POV
Man I wish Bobby was here, I mean, Chrome's a fine medic, but he's not Bobby, if that makes sense. Brown would have teased me, telling me I'm a lightweight and that I should just suck it up and stop being such a girl while I threw my guts up into this sink. Somehow that would have made it better. "Need to talk to Ranger" I tell Chrome as I stop retching for a moment and reach for a bottle of water to wash out my mouth.
"Not here" he tells me tight lipped with anger.
"Tank then" I'm trying to talk although my face feels two sizes two small and my tongue five too large. I grab Chrome by that stupid straggly pony tail he insists on wearing and drag him back to face me. "Listen you fucker, this is serious, get me Tank, now"
"You OK?" I hear his great dark voice tinged with anxiety and backed with acid sharp fury.
"Tank man, we have a problem" I start to cough and retch again.
He's beside me in seconds, his large hand a soothing weight on my arm."Take your time"
Joe's POV
Almost home. If I still have one, if the bastards after me have left anything of mine for me to return to. I recognise this skyline; I know it the way that I know the shape of my own face. My escort is tense, as if something bad has happened but they haven't had time to process it yet.
Today's vehicle is a minivan belonging to a plumbing company and I guess it's as good a way as any to get me into the building. My next stop is Rangeman and hopefully they'll be some way to get me out of this.
I'm going to miss them, Sin and Flighter; Sin may be right when he called it a bromance as I'm now closer to them than I am to anyone else. Sin's revelation about Vlad and his crew broke the barriers between us and now they let me take a stint at sentry duty as if I'm one of them instead of the one they're supposed to be guarding. Our witness protection people need to come here and see how to do it, we look like amateurs compared to Rangeman.
Steph's POV
This ends here.
If they want me, they can have me; no one else dies for me or because of me. All he wanted to do was protect me; his blood is on my hands. Even if I wasn't the one to pull that trigger, it's my fault he's gone.
I'll miss him; I miss him already, never again will I hear that that distinctive little whistle as he puts my mug down on my desk full of perfectly prepared coffee or feel the soft squeeze of his fingers around mine as he bids me good night.
His gentle laughter, the swearing under his breath in frustration as he fails yet again to remember his password the day after he's changed it.
The way he cheered up long surveillance shifts with what he called 'Tall tales of his adventures' I'm sure that most of them were true and he meant it when he said that 'Only the names were changed to protect the guilty'
And most of all the comfort and security his presence brought me, the knowledge that he had my back and that I had his. For all the good that actually did him, having me there, but he always acted like it meant something. Maybe to him it did, but now he's gone and I'll never be able to ask him.
I hate to do this to Bobby, after what happened to Adam, I'm really scared about what Ranger will do to him, but I have to go. I search my purse for some paper and a pen and scribble a note to him. He deserves that much at least.
Lester's POV
I open the trunk and haul out the body of our fallen comrade. He's in a body bag, thankfully, so no one has to see him.
Me, Hector, Eddie and Woody all take a respectful corner and with as much dignity as we can muster take him to the lift. No one looks at Ranger; we just get on with this sad duty. There was only him and Adam in the building, we weren't called back in until it was over and Adam's body was bagged and ready for uplift, at least I was spared that sight. I've seen enough friends put in the ground I don't need to see one more.
Bobby's POV
Cal's back and I've left it as long as I can, but now she needs to eat. I open the door and walk to the bed. It's empty, I call her name, once, twice, no answer and I can feel the sweat start to bead on my forehead. I head to the bathroom, the door unlocked, the light off, I check the only other place she can be, the second bedroom, but it too is Stephanie free. I head back and it takes me two attempts to hit the light switch and I see the dent from her head in the pillow and just below it a note.
I start to swear, loudly, bringing Cal running and he adds his own curses to the empty bed. I pick up the note, expecting it to be addressed to Ranger, but find my name on it.
Bobby
It's my fault he's dead. I won't let anyone else be hurt because of me. Don't look for me and tell Ranger not to look for me either.
Here's some cash for food and bedding for Rex, please look after him.
Tell the guys I'll miss them,
Steph
Absently I count the money, she left 30 dollars and then let the banknotes drop back to the bed and hand the note to Cal and pick up my phone.
Tank's POV
I get out of the elevator at 7; this sort of news needs to be delivered personally, no matter what problem I have with the recipient. I use my pass key to open the lock and call out as I enter the apartment.
"Ranger?"
At first there's no answer, so I listen for the sound of running water or some noise that would let me know where he is. Nothing, the place is silent. "Ranger" I call out louder and I hear him swear.
"What?" he barks as he comes towards me out of his bedroom. He must have been changing as his gun is out of its holster, I watch as he returns it.
"We have a problem"
"What now?" he barks at me.
"Ram found out something important, he was drugged as he left the bar in the hope that by the time he came round, it'd be too late.
"For what?"
My phone rings and I hold up a hand as I answer it. I listen intently, answering only in grunts and finally closing my eyes as Bobby delivers his bad news. I end the call and look down at my phone for a few seconds trying to decide which of the two disasters to report first. I take a deep breath and tell him "Steph's gone, slipped out on Bobby while Cal was out getting food"
"Find her, have her picked up and brought here"
"She doesn't want to be found" I tell him.
"So?" he asks me.
I hold up my hands in surrender "No I won't help you"
"Et tu Tank?" he asks me and runs a hand through his hair. "She'll go to her apartment first, I'll catch up with her there" he pushed past me.
"No" I catch his arm, "this is more important" I tell him. "You need to hear this"
"Then talk fast as I'm going after her"
Steph's POV
They have to know that I'll come here first; I just hope that I'm fast enough to get out before they get here. I have a bag packed and ready to go and I have collected up all the spare cash I can. It's something that I picked up from Adam, he had one and I got one ready too, not that I thought I'd ever have to use it. It was another of the things that we used to do to pass the time on stakeouts, mentally packing the perfect quick exit bag. Endless discussions over whether I was too sentimental as I wanted to take a photo album or that he was such a girl for taking a metal nail file. Just touching it causes a fresh wave of tears, I didn't think I could feel this much pain and still breathe.
A slight noise attracts my attention and I slip my gun out of the holster and flick off the safety. I dash the tears from my eyes and close the closet door and wait for whoever it is to show themselves. I didn't have to wait long as a familiar dark shadow slides into my vision and I raise my weapon.
"Gonna shoot me Babe?" his voice is soft and just a little amused. The bastard.
"Thinking about it" I admit.
"I can understand that you want to leave, but please do it safely"
"I don't know what's safe anymore" I tell him my voice breaking "I don't know who you are, you can't be the man I fell in love with, he wouldn't have done what you did to Adam"
"Babe"
"No" I try to shout at him but my voice comes out as a hoarse whisper "You lost the right to call me that when you killed him and made me listen, just so I would know that it was my fault he was dead"
"Come home with me, let me explain"
"What's to explain, Ranger?"
He sits down heavily on the bed and rubs his forehead with his fingers and I fight the urge to comfort him. "I love you" he whispers "Don't go like this"
I hate what he's done, but I can't just wipe away what I feel for him. I sit down next to him "I can't be around you right now"
"I know, but come back to Haywood with me and let me make arrangements for you to go back with the men that are bringing Joe home"
I opened my mouth but he held up a finger "Please Stephanie, let me do this one last thing for you"
I knew he was right and he used that word and I didn't want to think, it hurt too much. What I wanted was to close my eyes and wake up again in a world where Adam was alive and Carlos was still the good guy.
I picked up my bag and let him lead me to his car and we drove back to Haywood in silence.
Mel's POV
I knew he'd come up with something, he always does. Now all I have to do is to wait until the right moment and play my trump card. The elevator doors open and she steps out. Looks like the Queen of Hearts in now in play. Time for the Queen of Spades to go to work.
I wait until she sees me and smile hesitantly at her.
"You'll be Stephanie" I hold out a hand and she eyes it coldly and I drop it back down to my side "I'm Mel, it's an honour to meet you, Tank speaks highly of you"
She softens slightly when she thinks that I'm not an old flame of Ranger's. "Hi" she catches Tank's eye and he waves her across. "Nice to meet you" she tells me with a small smile and as soon as she reaches Tank he holds out his arms to her and she almost falls into them. I can hear him murmuring something to her, but can't make out the words. Her replies are just as indistinct, worst luck.
He takes out his wallet and hands her a stack of cash and goes into the drawer for something and hands that over too. She stuffs it into the pocket of her jeans and heads back to the elevator.
Ranger's POV
I can hear her key in the lock and the chime as her keys land in the dish. The soft scuff as she toes off her shoes and the soft padding noise of her feet against the hard wood floor. In a perfect world those noises would be followed by the whisper of her clothing down her body and the gentle thud as they hit the floor followed by her throaty chuckle as she pressed her beautiful body against mine.
But this is not a perfect world, far from it in fact. She follows the light and joins me in my study. I stand as she enters and lead her back towards the bedroom. She hesitates, pulling away from my arm "That isn't why I am here" she tells me haughtily.
I raise an eyebrow as I look at her "I have something to show you"
She sighs "What?"
I open the bedroom door and reach round and switch the light on.
Steph's POV
If he thinks I'm here for one more tumble in the hay, he can think again.
But I follow him anyway as I can get some of my things to take with me.
The light goes on and he waits for me to enter.
I do and stop as a familiar figure looks up from the bed and says "Hey Steph"
"A-A-Adam?" I stammer and look from him to Ranger.
"S-S-Steph?" he teased and I ran to him, throwing myself on the bed and into his arms.
"You're dead" I sobbed as his arms closed around me. "I heard him kill you"
"Shh" he soothed "We had to make Vlad think I was out of the picture"
"Why?"
He sat up with me still cradled in his arms. He planted a kiss on the top of my head "This is about more than Joe's cover being blown. Someone wants something and they'll stop at nothing to get it"
"Who?" I ask and they look at one another.
"We're not sure what she wants" he tells me with a shrug.
"She? As in that woman downstairs?"
"Yes" He kissed my head again and let me go. "We'd better get off the bed as Ranger doesn't look too happy that you are still in my arms"
Oh God, Carlos, what have I done? I look up at him and the raw pain I see in his eyes burns me all the way to my soul. I should have believed in him.