These characters belong to Janet I am just borrowing them for my amusement. Although I would love to keep Ranger and the merry men for myself!
This story does contain violence, and touches on dark subject matters. This story is not friendly to Morelli or Helen Plum so for Cupcake fans you have been warned.
Chapter 16: Training Pt2 Tank Defensive Driving
SPOV
I got off of the elevator giggling at my best friend. He was forever saying something that would land him in a world of hurt with Carlos but I loved him regardless or maybe in spite of it. Lester was my best friend. He was the first person at Rangeman that opened up to me being here. I mean Ranger was okay with me being here but I don't think the other guys knew how to take me at first.
Lester openly accepted me and made me feel at home. He is the most talkative of all the Rangeman he laughs and has the funniest jokes he can make a joke out of anything. I love that about him. Lester is a looker, a charmer, a classic ladies man but not in the sick disgusting way. He could come in and sweep a lady right off of her feet. He was beyond good looking he was like Carlos gorgeous and had a body that would make a grown woman cry but when he smiled at you, well you found yourself wanting to see more.
My heart, my body, and my soul will forever belong to Carlos and when it comes to all of the Merry men and Carlos there is no doubt who the winner is in the drop dead gorgeous or sex god category but Lester would be a close second.
Lester and I became friends fast hell I think I considered him a friend when he teased me the first time I met him on the redecorating job from hell. I should have known Ranger wouldn't do decorating bad asses don't do inter decorating sometimes I could be so naive. The way he teased that I didn't know how to have fun because I was afraid of getting arrested or getting shot at that is still a inside joke between us. When I started working here besides Ranger he was the only guy who would say more than two words to me.
He would eat lunch with me and even helped me hide my contraband which I will never forget. He even keeps chocolate hidden in his desk for when I am in dire need of emergency chocolate. Now you know you have a best friend when they keep your emergency chocolate for you and don't eat it.
The more we got to know each other the more we realized we had a lot in common. We liked the same type of music, we enjoyed the same movies, and we even liked the same TV shows. We both watch and discuss certain TV shows like Justified and Bones he even watched Covert Affairs last summer so we could talk about it because I told him I wanted to watch it and I agreed to watch Blue Bloods. See that is what Best Friends do.
Besides watching the show knowing your best friend is watching it so you can talk about it and the characters makes the show more fun to watch. We started it with Lost when we discovered we both loved Lost but when the show ended we found we missed our television show discussions so we found other shows to watch together. We don't necessarily watch them together as in the same room but we know each other is watching it so we can discuss it later.
On days that weren't going my way, or days when I had rolled in god only knows what, or days when I just felt like I was at the end of my rope and hanging on for dear life it was Lester who would help me up brush me off and set me back on my feet. Especially when Ranger wasn't around to do it or when Ranger was in the wind. I could talk to Lester as easy as I could talk to Mary Lou.
I walked into the gym Bobby was waiting for me with my workout schedule. "Bobby is that my workout schedule?" "Yeah Bomber I have it all ready for you. I thought I would walk you thru your first cardio session and then overlook your workout session if you would like. That way if I see something that needs to be tweaked we can do it." "Okay Bobby that sounds good."
I walked over to the treadmill and hopped on and Bobby proceeded to walk me thru my cardio routine.
MPOV
I can't believe Cupcake filed charges against me. That bitch. I know she said it but I sort of thought she wouldn't go thru with it. After all I just have her best interest at heart. No the cops show up at my door asking me to turn myself in because she has filed charges against me. So I had to go to jail and then see the judge who let me out on bail thankfully I didn't have to put up any money since I was an upstanding member of society. See even the judge knows how crazy Cupcake is for doing this. She is just trying to pull a good cop down. She even got the restraining order not that I cared about that. Like I said before, there are plenty of people buried that had restraining orders.
She would pay. I would make sure Cupcake paid dearly for this. By her filing charges it would go on my record and it would affect any promotions I may be considered for. It would affect undercover work I would be assigned. It would affect my whole job not to mention some of my co-workers are now looking at me like I am not as good as the gum that is stuck on the bottom of their shoes.
Eddie, Big dog, Carl and Robin are all avoiding me or not speaking to me. I can't believe Robin won't speak to me. She has always been happy to have a little romp here and there with me and now she won't speak to me. I hope she comes around because sometimes it is convenient to just slip down to the basement utility area for a little than having to go find a place.
Damn Cupcake always ruins everything. Well I will have the last laugh when she has nothing. Hell I may even tell her she can't have me just to see her suffer. Of course I will then have a change of heart after she is broken and take her back. When I am done she will no longer trust or want to be anywhere near her new family as she calls them those fucking thugs.
I need someone to fuck to take my mind off of all of this. Picking up my phone I dial Momma "Plum Residence" Good she answered. "Momma how are you today?" "Why Joseph I am well how about yourself? I hope my x daughter didn't cause you too much trouble filing those charges against you. I seriously don't know what gets into her to make her act like that."
"Momma I am fine. It isn't anything that won't work itself out with time. It is more of a pain in the backside if you know what I mean than anything. It will affect any promotions I may be considered for and some of my undercover assignments but beyond that I will be fine." "Well I am sorry that it will affect your job is there anything I can do to make it better?" I thought she would never ask.
"Yeah you can meet me same place, same time as yesterday that would go a long way to helping to make me feel better." I say this I as I stroke my hardening dick. I was ready for a little rough and from the way she was yesterday I knew she could handle it. "That sounds good Joseph, you take care and I hope to see you some time soon." She must not be alone but it was enough for me to know that she would be there.
MPPOV
I was nervous that he wouldn't call me again. Wouldn't want to meet me again after what my bitch of a daughter pulled last night and then the audacity of her to actually go and file charges again Joseph knowing how it would affect his job.
I mean this was her lively hood too if he couldn't get a promotion then he wouldn't get a raise and he had to make enough money for her to be able to stay at home and raise their children after all what type of burg mother would she be if she worked while her children were young? Seriously sometimes that daughter, x daughter of mine doesn't know what she is doing.
I was thrilled when he called. I was excited when I heard his voice and when he asked me to meet him same place same time I almost collapsed at the knees with joy. He still wanted to be with me even if Stephanie was acting like a bitch and making his life difficult. Well I was going to be there for him any and every way I could. I would do whatever he wanted to give him a little bit of happy I know he had a rough night thanks to that x daughter of mine. This was the least I could do.
TPOV
I have been in my office for the past couple of hours planning out my little girl's training for Defensive Driving. I had to chuckle to myself when I thought about her comment about her driving me. Only my little girl would remember something like that and bring it up now.
I had been watching the feed from the obstacle course this morning and I was proud of how well she performed each obstacle. She was taking it seriously and she was doing everything to the best of her ability. For that I was proud of her. Sort of like a proud papa when his little one spreads their wings.
I wasn't going to let her know that I had seen her on the course we all agreed that if she realized there were cameras there then she would become self conscious and we didn't want that. When she fell and landed on her back I thought Ranger would hit the roof. I heard him cussing in my office and I knew why. He was cussing Brown for not being there to catch her. I mean she fell like eight or so feet and landed on her back she could have gotten hurt. I wanted to question Brown as to what the fuck he was thinking but in the end she was fine so I wasn't going to bring it up.
Her getting hurt is one of my biggest concerns for her training. I know how all the men feel about her we all love her we are overbearing and we are furiously protective. I also can't help but think about what Ranger told me about Hector having declared himself her guardian. I hope my little girl understood what that meant the honor that he was bestowing upon her by allowing her in. Hector allowed no one in even us and we have worked with him for years. I mean he liked us and all but if we were to wrong him or threaten him he wouldn't think twice about spilling our blood.
I am all for guardian angels but If I had to pick between a guardian angel and Hector well let's say I would pick Hector every time. I smiled knowing Hector would keep my girl safe but I also cringed with the way she attracted crazies, stalkers, and the people she came in contact with skip tracing there would be a lot of bodies that we would need to make disappear with Hector as her guardian.
I just silently hoped that none of them would be Rangeman bodies because we allowed her to get hurt or we caused it as with Brown earlier today not being aware of his surroundings and letting her fall from the rope. I secretly wondered what Hector would do to Brown and hoped it wasn't too drastic.
Her Defensive driving course covered so much groundwork. I really wondered how we were going to fit it all in during the two week time frame. There was just so much to learn. I finally decided that we would focus on the test requirements and fill in the holes once she has passed the test. It isn't the greatest of all scenarios but it is the one that will accomplish the objective of getting my little girl to pass the test and join us here as a full time Rangeman and that was the main goal.
SPOV
Damn that is some workout. My upper body feels like jello the muscles are just not responding. My arms feel like they are ready to fall off. But I did it. I finished it. Bobby walked me thru the cardio which made a lot more sense to me now and then he proceeded to watch me do the upper body workout we had discussed this morning.
I had less than an hour to get cleaned up and eat something before meeting Tank for the afternoon training session. I made my way up to our home and in the bathroom. I was just stepping in the shower when I heard the apartment door open. Carlos must have come up for a quick bite.
I heard the bathroom door open "Babe?" just before I heard Carlos call my name. "Carlos I am in the shower." "Babe" his voice sounding strained. I knew what he was thinking. "Carlos I need to get cleaned up and ready for my training session with Tank and get something to eat so don't let those thoughts get too carried away or I am going to be late." Groaning he comes in and leans up against the counter.
"Babe I don't have much time either. I have to meet with a client in less than an hour or I would join you and just make Tank wait. I wanted to ask you how this morning session went with Brown." Why did they insist on calling each other by their last names? I mean he doesn't call all of them by their last names but those without nicknames he does. Why not Bobby or Lester I briefly wondered, I mean he calls Hal, Hal, and Cal, Cal, why not Lester, Lester, and Bobby, Bobby, no they have to be Santos and Brown so confusing?
"It was good. He set me up with a daily workout schedule which I just finished my workout session and I have to say I am not sure I am going to make it my upper body and arms feel like jello. I can tell I am going to be sore tomorrow already and I haven't even begun to feel it."
"Yeah Babe, that will happen. When you start a workout especially lifting your muscles first break down before rebuilding during that break down phase is when they will feel tight and they will hurt. It is natural it is normal don't worry about it but it will be painful. But it will go away in about a week or so."
"Carlos Bobby took me to the obstacle course today why is it I didn't know that existed until today? That place seems pretty cool. Bobby said I would be spending a lot more time there as many of the things I will be learning will be trained from there."
"Babe I never thought to tell you, I never really thought it would be something that you would have been interested in." Guess he had a point. "But Brown is right we will be spending some time out there as well as you and Tank. How did the obstacle course go?"
"Bobby said I did amazing, those were his words not mine, Carlos I didn't know Bad asses did amazing." I couldn't resist saying that giggling to myself. His reply though surprised me "Babe when it comes to you everything a typical bad ass wouldn't and would do gets thrown out the window. I have learned that over the years." I had to giggle I couldn't hold it back.
"Laugh it up Babe, but it is true. Just don't tell the guys that. We all like to believe that we are still bad asses even though a little hundred and ten blue eyed curly brown hair monster has all but leveled us to our knees." "Carlos you all are still bad asses in my eyes." I had to throw him a bone even though he had just made my day.
"Anyway badasses aside the obstacle course was fun. I successfully performed all of the obstacles with the exception of the wall. I couldn't get my ass up and over that wall no matter how fast I ran at it or how hard I hit it. How high I jumped I still couldn't get over it. Bobby said that was okay and that we would work more on that obstacle over the next two weeks."
"Babe that is one of the harder obstacles on the course just ask the men here they will tell you scaling that wall is difficult even for them. I have faith though you will get over that wall." I smiled he had faith in me. Oh wow, now that made me feel like I could do anything.
"The rope was also a little challenging for me. My first attempt I fell and landed on my back. I knocked the air out of me but once I got my breath back I was able to successfully get myself up there and across it without any problems."
"Did you hurt yourself Babe? When you get out of the shower I want to take a look at your back before you get dressed." Of course he would want to check me out but I thought I would tease him a little "Carlos is that just a ploy so you can see my naked ass?" He choked ha I had surprised him. YAY me!
TPOV
It's almost two and I am waiting for my little girl in the garage. I thought we would drive out to the compound and go over what we would be doing for her defensive driving training. I wanted to go over the test objectives with her and then we could get busy.
I heard the ding of the elevator and both she and Ranger exited the elevator. They walked over to us and her eyes were sparkling with mischief no doubt she is once again thinking about driving me in the car.
"Babe you have fun this afternoon. I have client meetings off site all afternoon but I will see you for dinner tonight." She looked at him gave him a kiss "Okay I will see you tonight. I am training until six tonight." He gives her another kiss and nods at me before walking over to the turbo. I know that nod is saying keep her safe fucker or you will live to regret it. I nod back my understanding.
"Let's go little girl we are going to head over to the compound where the driving course is located. Then we will get started on your training." She smiles nods and climbs in the passenger seat. Good at least she didn't think I would allow her to drive me to the compound. It wasn't going to happen, no way no how. I drove the cars if women wanted to drive well I let them drive in my bed. Of course the only woman driving in my bed these days was Lula.
We pull up to the compound and I put my thumb on the pad and enter my code the gate opens and we proceed to the defensive driving range. Once we get there I park the car removing my seat belt I sit back to talk to my little girl a moment before we got out.
"Before we get started I wanted to go over the test objectives with you for Defensive Driving." She nods waiting for me to continue. "There are five objectives to the Defensive Driving test. The first objective is just that driving defensively meaning proper breaking, accelerating, being aware of your surroundings, protecting yourself as well as others in your car, and using your car safely as a weapon if necessary to protect you or a passenger." I could tell she was a little confused but I will clarify everything later.
"Some of what I may say at this point you may not understand but you will trust me. The second objective is detecting a tail. You will be required to detect a tail even a complicated tail where different vehicles are used." I could see her wondering how she would do that.
"Little girl don't jump too far ahead we will show you we will start out with one and work up from there. With your senses it will come easy I promise you. The third objective is losing a tail. You need to effectively loose a tail. This will tie in with last objective but I will get to that in a few minutes." She nods her head in understanding. I don't think I am use to my little girl being this quiet. I know she is just focusing on what I am telling her but it is eerie for her to be so quiet.
"The fourth objective is tailing another car. You will need to effectively be able to tail a car without detection. And finally the fifth objective you will need to drive a car around the course here in excess speed while avoiding obstacles and hazards that will occur on the course."
I could tell that she didn't know where to begin. She was just taking in everything I said and was replaying it. Well no time like the present to jump in. This was going to fun.
"Okay little girl let's get started." She smiled looking at me "Okay Tank let's do this." I had to smile at her I couldn't help myself.
SPOV
All in all it didn't sound that bad. At least it was just sitting behind the wheel. No lifting or physical exertion required because after this morning I am not certain I would be up for it.
We made our way down to the course and got behind the wheel of one of the SUVs on the course. Tank getting in the passenger side still made me smile and giggle to myself. No matter what happened I would never let him live this down it was just too good. I Stephanie Plum will be driving Tank. The thought of that caused an image to pop in my head from the movie "Driving Miss Daisy" where Tank was setting in the back and I was his chauffer and I just had to crack up laughing.
Tank looking at me with a raised eyebrow quickly sobered me and I settled down to get ready for business.
I have been driving in New Jersey since I was a teenager so I think I am fairly decent defensive driver I mean you haven't driven until you have driven during rush hour traffic on the New Jersey turnpike. I mean they should make you pass a special driving test just for that road.
I get in the vehicle and Tank immediately starts explaining to me how to set my seat, my mirrors, where to place my hands on the wheel. I can't believe what he is saying to me. "Tank" I interrupted him, oh shit I just interrupted him he is going to fucking ship my ass off. He just looks at me "You know I have driven before, right?" He smiles.
"Yes, I am well aware you have driven before and I have seen your cars." He laughs and I glare at him. "This is different than your typical driving. You will be driving defensively and offensively you will be driving at excess speeds it is important for you and your passengers that everything is properly adjusted prior to starting the car. So pay attention and don't interrupt." He smiled at the last part I just prayed that mean that he found me amusing and wasn't going to ship my ass off.
"When setting your side mirrors it is important to know that you do not have any blind spots. Blind spots can get your seriously hurt or killed especially if you are driving in excess speed or need to get away from an attacker." I nodded I could see the truth in that.
"So when setting your side mirrors the proper way to set them so there are no blind spots is for you to lean the opposite direction of the mirror you are setting as far as you can lean and then set the mirror when you can see the side or rear view of your car come into view on the mirror it is set. So for the passenger mirror you will lean toward your driver door. For you side mirror you will lean toward the passenger seat."
I leaned and sat the mirrors as I was told. I had never been told that before so I was in fact learning something new. Obviously I knew how to set the review mirror.
"Most people when driving place their hands at what is known ten and two. I don't know if you tend to do this or not but for offensive or defensive driving you should try to retrain yourself to place your hands at nine and three. By having your hands at nine and three you will have better control of your vehicle. If you have ever watched racing on TV you will notice that the drives hold the wheel at the nine and three positions they do that because of the control they have. You will also have the levers for bright lights, turn signals, and window washers right at your hands as many of them are placed at the nine and three position of the wheel."
I typically drove ten and two but shifting my hands to nine and three was doable I would just have to remind myself a few times until it came natural. Tank continued
"When you are driving make sure you can always see pavement between you and the car in front of you never drive or stop closer to the vehicle in front of you that you can't see pavement. When you can't see pavement that means you don't have the room needed for escape. By seeing pavement between you and the vehicle in front of you that means you always have a route for escape."
So that is why they always stopped so far back from cars. I thought they had a no tailgate policy as everyone in Jersey tailgates. They always frustrated me with how far back they drove and stopped but now I know it was to prevent from being trapped between two cars. Made perfect sense, I realized I was going to have to really retrain my brain when it came to driving and he wasn't close to finished.
"Have you ever heard of something called the dead pedal?" I looked at him while my mind was racing had I ever heard of a dead pedal. "No I have never heard of a dead pedal." "A dead pedal is to the left of the gas and brake pedals. Have you ever noticed the raise place to the left that many people typically rest their left foot while they are driving with the right?" I nodded I knew where he was talking about.
"That area is known as the dead pedal. It is there for several reasons one if you are driving a vehicle with a clutch it keeps your foot in a better position for engaging the clutch. If you are not driving a clutch it still serves a purpose and if you don't already you should learn to keep your left foot on the dead pedal when driving. If you need to break heavy having your left foot there will help brace your body and will reduce the chances of you bracing your body against the gas pedal because you used your left foot for the gas while your right foot rams on the gas. I know it sounds silly but it happens more than you will ever realize. It will help you maintain your position in the seat and in helping brace your body it allows your right foot to either brake or accelerate to prevent a crash." I put my left foot on the dead pedal and pushed as though it was a true pedal.
"You have ridden with us enough to know that when we drive we tend to be quiet I believe you have referred to it as our zone. Well I am going to tell you know what that zone is and you will learn how to get in that zone over the next couple of weeks." I look at him and am shocked. I know my mouth is hanging open as I am picking my chin up from my lap. I am going to learn how to have a driving zone.
"I already spoke about maintaining distance between you and the vehicle in front but actually you should maintain distance between your vehicle and other vehicles on the road on all sides as you move down the road. I know sometimes it is difficult to maintain distance of the cars behind you but we will show you some tactics to use. The distance that you should maintain is the distance that would give you the ability to escape should something happen on the road."
I nodded that I understood him and was following along. "The second thing you should be doing is scanning your environment for potential hazards. You should be scanning the area approximately twelve seconds ahead that way you will have the ability react to the hazard. The faster you are moving the faster you need to scan and the further out you need to scan as your speed directly affects your reaction time. So it is actually better if you scan the area that you can see for any and all potential hazards."
That makes better sense to me to just scan what I see I have no idea what is twelve seconds ahead of me.
"What you refer to the zone is actually part of our defensive driving. Where we are maintaining space for escape if necessary, we are constantly scanning our environment for any potentials hazards. We then identify potential hazards such as people walking, kids playing, animals near the side of the road, etc. Once identified we try to predict what might happen and then we form a plan of action before even reaching the potential hazard. If the hazard presents itself we are ready with a plan and then only have to maneuver and execute our plan."
Oh wow I should have known they were doing this but it never occurred to me. When I drive I just drive. I mean I watch where I am going but I sing, I talk, I think about my day my life, what happened last night. I don't scan for potential hazards, I don't plan escape routes, and I don't plan my actions for potential hazards. I just drive. This was going to be a whole new experience for me. Again I realized I was going to have to retrain the whole way I drive.
"Wow I never realized that was what you all were doing when you are driving. I just thought you all were sort of lost in thought."
He half chuckled and let out an hmm sound before continuing. "There is a whole lot more to defensive driving than just what I told you but that is a place to start. When it comes to detecting a tail part of that is using the defensive driving of being aware of your surroundings. When driving being aware of your surroundings also means to take note of the type and color of the cars around you paying attention to who is driving those cars."
God I am going to have to learn cars. I have no idea the model of cars I mean I know type by the emblems but now I need to know models. Hell I know there are cars, suvs, vans, and trucks isn't that good enough? As if reading my mind Tank responded.
"No it isn't good enough you need to know that it is the same truck and not a different truck that happens to be the same color. Why do you think all of Rangeman's vehicles are black?" Oh I know the answer to this one. "Because Black is Ranger's favorite color, everything he has is black." Tank smiled again I am amusing him again. Guess I didn't know the answer to that question after all. Did bad asses do favorite color? Hmm I am going to have to find out.
"No that isn't the reason that all of the vehicles are black the reason is because black is easy to forget it doesn't stand out its easily forgettable. You may look at a shiny black car and think wow that's a pretty car but if you look at a shiny red car the same make and model you are more inclined to remember the red one versus the black one." He continued
"When scanning for a tail you should look for suspicious vehicles. Look for vehicles that without reason change the line of traffic or direction or break traffic rules to keep up with you. Spotting the same vehicle in multiple places that is where knowing the model, color, outward appearances, and the occupants of the vehicle and if possible the license number in mind. Then you can keep track of how many times you have seen the same vehicle. We will start with just one vehicle tailing you and then multiple car tail."
"Tank how am I supposed to know and remember every car I mean there are hundreds or thousands of cars that I am on the road with every day. How do you remember them?"
"You don't have to remember them as in always just while you are driving down the road take note of the vehicles around you as you continue on your route keep track are those same vehicles still with you or have they dropped off. Again remember to look for suspicious vehicles. Most people trying to tail you make mistakes of getting too close for fear they will lose you. Meaning you will make a green light and they won't or you will make a turn they won't see."
"That leads us to losing a tail. The best way to lose a tail is to use the advantages of traffic in your favor. You could run a red light, drive the wrong way on a one way street, on a freeway at high speed suddenly cut across all lanes of traffic and make a speedy exit. If you feel that you are being followed but aren't certain by which vehicle after taking a turn pull over and park then take note of any vehicles that pass you. Use your turn signals to signal you are going to turn and then at the last minute change and go straight or turn the opposite direction. You can also use any offensive driving techniques you will learn such as a one eighty turn called the bootlegger's turn to lose a tail."
Oh now that sounded fun. I always wanted to learn how to make those fast turns.
"Little girl I want us to drive around the course at a slower speed for the first time. This course will have obstacles that you will need to maneuver around, it will have potential hazards setup along the route and you will need to identify them to me tell me what potential hazard they could be and what you would do if that hazard where to happen. I will tell you some of them will and others won't while you are driving the course. For the test you will need to drive this course at speeds of sixty to hundred miles an hour depending on where we are on the course. You will see a speed sign and that is the minimum speed you should drive for that part of the course. I will tell you faster will get you higher marks but you won't fail the test by going the posted speed as long as you properly maneuver the course."
Now I was a little worried shit what have I gotten myself into? I find myself wondering for the second or third time oh hell I have lost count.
"For your first time on the course let's drive at a slower speed of thirty miles an hour. Don't believe that if you drive this course it will always be the same hazards because they change so don't bother trying to remember where a hazard was."
Great, of course they would change this was Rangeman after all they would have the most elaborate driving course known to mankind. Okay that may have sounded a little cynical but a driving obstacle course that changes, really?
I start the SUV and proceeded down the vehicle obstacle course. "Tell me what you see has the potential to cause a hazard." Okay looking around all four sides of my car "I see kids playing on the side of the road with a ball. The ball could roll into the road and a kid could run out to get it and run in front me." It didn't happen we continued on. "I see a car coming to what would be a stop light and I see pedestrians in the cross walk. The car could run the stop light or a pedestrian could step out in front of me." I felt a little silly saying all of this but I did it anyway.
As we approached the intersection the car bolted in front of me forcing me to slam on the brakes. Remembering about the dead pedal I braced my foot against it as I slammed on the brakes. I stopped us just before impact. "Very good" I heard Tank say over the blood pounding in my heart. Even knowing something was going to happen on the course didn't stop the panic that flooded thru me when I saw the car run in front of us. Holy shit that just shaved a few years off of my life my heart was pounding like it was going to pound out of my chest and this had only just started.
"Holy shit Tank. That was close." He looked at me and smiled. "You did good little girl. You stopped us in time that is all the counts." "Yeah but I am fairly certain I shaved a couple of years off of my life in doing so." Still shaking my head trying to lose that nervous feeling the adrenaline was coursing its way thru my system. "We will help you focus your adrenaline in time you will be able to use it for now it will leave you feeling a little weak and shaky that is normal. Take your time and take several deep breaths. Breathe in….Breathe out." I matched my breathing with his and in a minute or so I was feeling more normal.
We continued down the course reminding myself about keeping space between my vehicle and any that may be in front of us. I also kept reminding myself to leave an escape distance when we stopped. It was a good thing too when all of a sudden I heard squealing tires behind me and saw a car barreling down toward us ready to ram us. I was able to successfully escape the crash by escaping into the other lane.
The course was a big course with several turns and different streets you could take all in all I would say it was probably a two mile square with streets running thru out it. I was amazed at how advanced it was in that the cars moved and the fake pedestrians, animals, and kids playing all moved. All had the potential for jumping out right in front of you or ramming you. You really had to be aware of your surroundings in there.
Tank and I spent probably close to two hours maybe more just driving around the course up and down the different streets. Me telling him what I saw, what the potential threat was, and what I needed to do to avoid it often times I had to prove it because whatever the potential threat was would happen as we approached. Finally Tank said we had worked enough on the course and he instructed me to leave the course exiting on the opposite end than where we entered.
On this end was sort of what I expected the course to be initially. There was a big area with cones you drive thru, fake people standing that you had to race to and stop before hitting them, and then a large area that I wasn't sure what they did there.
"This area is where we practice high speed driving. You will start out here driving slow like we did the drivers course but then we will add speed like the drivers course you will be doing speeds out here in excess of hundred miles an hour. You will be practicing your one eighty turns, your abrupt stopping in front of people, and you will practice learning how to control your vehicle in a high speed chase."
That sounded like fun to me. "For the test you will only have to perform in the course but all of these elements will be there in the course." I nod in understanding to him.
He instructed me to go to the cones where I effectively at thirty miles an hour maneuvered the SUV thru the cones without hitting any. Tank had me increase the speed as we went toward the fake people and then had me slam on the brakes and turn the wheel. What should have effectively brought the side of the SUV up to them so they could quickly get in. Sounds simple right? Seen it done on TV how many times? I could not tell you. It looked easy right? Well let me tell you it is not easy.
I kept wiping out the fake people with the side of my car. Poor fake people. Poor Tank because each time we tried he had to get out and sit them back up. The only time I was somewhat successful I was far enough away from them to park another car between us. While kudos for me I didn't take them out I still wouldn't have passed the test. I was a little disappointed.
TPOV
I could see the disappointment creeping its way into my little girl and I wanted to stop it. She had done a great job today I didn't want her getting down because of this. "Look at me, this isn't easy it isn't only judging your space, distance, speed but you have to judge the weight of the vehicle you are driving the stopping distance and account for sliding. It isn't something that just comes natural. It comes with training. You will get it."
I could tell she wasn't as sure as I was but she was going to trust me and move on. For that I was happy. We ended our session with instructing her to drive around the outside of the courses maintain a speed of at least ninety plus miles per hour. If she was going to learn how to drive a car in excess speeds she needed to practice what it feels like and learn how to control it.
She did well all in all I was very proud of her. We concluded our training with a trip around Trenton. We got out of the course SUV and walked over to the SUV that we drove to the compound. "Now it is my turn to drive I told her." Giggling she got in the passenger seat. I proceeded to tell her how we were going to spend our last hour.
"We are going to drive around Trenton. Actually I am going to drive. But what I want you to do is remain fully aware of your surroundings. I want you to tell me what you see. I want you to describe to me the vehicles around me what you notice about them, if you see them more than once, I want you to tell me what potential hazards are around us at all times. It will be easier for you if you aren't driving then you only have to think about remaining aware of your environment. Later we will have to drive and do it but I want you to get a feel of it prior to driving."
She nodded her head. "Okay let's do this Tank." I had to smile. She had made me proud and this was only day one of training.
As we drove thru the streets of Trenton she kept telling me about cars behind me beside me in front of me potential hazards to be aware of. I had to say she really had an eye because I don't think she missed much if she did then I must missed it also.
As I made the final turn on to Haywood I couldn't wait to tell her "Little girl you did an amazing job this afternoon. I want you to know that I am proud of you. I can't wait to see how your training continues. It has been my pleasure working with you this afternoon." I glanced over at her and tears were in her eyes.
"Thanks Tank you don't know how much that means to me to hear you say that. It has been a long time since anyone has spent the time with me you guys are spending with me training me. It means the world to me to have your support. I couldn't do it without you all. I couldn't take my life back if I didn't have all of your support." With her finished sentence the tears were flowing down her cheeks. God I hated it see her cry.
Here I am a big mean badass capable of taking down any opponent and this little one hundred ten blue eye brown curly haired girl could bring me to my knees. What the hell?
"Little Girl please don't cry. We are all here for you. We all want nothing more than support you and work with you. We all will help you anyway we can, know that but please stop crying. If I take you back crying Ranger is going to kick my ass and god only know what Hector will do to me. I seriously may not live to see tomorrow for making you cry."
She looks at me "they are happy tears I am just so humbled, so thankful, and so undeserving to have friends like you all." Jesus Christ she thinks she is undeserving of having us. How could she be so blind and her world so tilted that she would think that shit and actually believe that shit. "If there is anyone undeserving it's us Little Girl not you. Don't ever think differently."
She shakes her head "No Tank you are wrong" what the fuck, I am wrong. Not many men are brave enough to tell me I am wrong about something even if I am. In this case however, I am not wrong. Most mean would rather shit themselves than contradict me. I am not use to people contradicting me. At Rangeman the only one brave enough is Ranger and I think once Bobby and Lester tag teamed me. In the Rangers anyone contradicting me lived to regret it and learned really fucking quickly never to do it again. Here once again this one ten light weight from the burg had brought me to my knees.
"How am I wrong? You are good. You are the light in our dark world. You give us reason to smile to see good in the world to understand why we do what we do. To remind us what we do is for the good, what we do protects the good. How is it exactly that we are deserving and you believe you that you aren't?"
"You just said it. It is one of the reasons I want to be a member of Rangeman. I want to help protect the good. I want to put away the bad people and protect the good. Right now I don't do that. Right now I just accept your protection I accept that you all protect me from the bad. I want to feel like I protect people from bad. When I feel like I do my share to make this world a safer place like you guys do every day then I will feel as though I deserve the same things I believe you all deserve. Until then I will always feel a little unworthy of all you all do for me."
Holy shit for the third time today in less than ten minutes I am leveled to my knees. I don't even know what to say to her. I don't know words to describe what I want to tell her. I am so humbled by her. So I say the only thing I can think to say. "Little girl I love you. You are my sister, my little girl, and I will always be here for you. Even when you become a member of Rangeman know that I will still protect you and look out after you as will every man in the building." She nods her head and smiles. Then she asked me something that I wasn't sure I wanted to tell her but she just had to ask me.
"What did you mean when you said that you didn't know what Hector would do to you if you took me back crying? Why would he do anything?"
"Well I didn't want to be the one to tell you, I am sure Hector would rather tell you himself but since you asked me and I sort of spilled the beans on that one I will tell you. Hector has sort of deemed himself your guardian." She looked at me "My guardian why would he do that?"
Shit now what am I going to say "Well I guess like many of the guys he loves you and thinks of you as a sister. Hector is a hard man. Life for Hector was different than the other guys. The other guys for the most part are x military and while we have seen our fair share of fucked up things that we don't like talking about for the most part we have had or have families that love us. But for Hector he didn't have that. Life for him has always been hard hell I don't even know all there is know about Hector. He grew up in a very ruthless gang and rose to the top. He got out of that same gang and to my knowledge he is the only member of that gang that ever walked away alive. He has no family he doesn't have close friends he doesn't really let anyone in but he has let you in. Because you are the only person he has let in he feels the need to guard you in order to keep you. Hector will protect you from everyone including one of us, his own brothers."
I could see the shock of what I just told her. "Protect me from you all, no one needs to protect me from anyone at Rangeman. I trust you all, I love you all." I know that was true that no one here would hurt a hair on her head or would allow her to be hurt if it could be prevent. "I know that, you know that, but that isn't the world that Hector is use to living in so he doesn't necessarily see it that way. He knows we all love you and we all will protect you but if you are hurt during one of our watch we better have a damn good reason why we didn't do all we could to protect you."
"Has he told you this, did he tell you that?" I shook my head "No little girl he doesn't have to we all know him well enough that if he thinks of himself as your guardian we all know what he will expect of us. Just ask Bobby, if you don't believe me, I would be willing to bet you that Hector has probably had a talk with him about you falling from the rope this morning."
"I believe you. I just can't wrap my head around it. It isn't like Hector and I are that close I mean we haven't worked together I can't understand what he says and he can't understand what I say. I would expect you, Lester, Bobby, and definitely Ranger to feel this way but not Hector."
"We do feel the same way about you." I wasn't going to tell her that we had better control than Hector. I wasn't going to be the one that told her that Hector's first instinct was to kill and then question when a threat presented itself. Even though we were x military, badasses and very lethal in our own right hell we probably had all taken more lives than Hector had even thought about we had the ability to seek alternative ways to keep from killing someone if possible, especially here at home in daily work life. Hector didn't necessarily have those skills. Life's experience had taught him something entirely different. I would leave it up to someone else to explain that to her.
SPOV
Tank and I had been sitting in the SUV in the garage talking I couldn't wrap my head around what he was telling me about Hector. Here I was still a little intimidated by him not that I would tell anyone. He sort of scared me and yet I was hearing that Hector thought of me has his sister, that he loved me and that he had labeled himself my guardian my protector.
I guess one can never have enough guardians or protectors but usually I am the independent type. I mean all of my friends here are protective over me and now I find out that Hector is as well even though we barely know each other. That just confirmed to me even more how these guys are my brothers my family and how much I loved them.
I don't mind them protecting me like a little sister. Truth is I always wanted an older brother but I do hope that it doesn't get overbearing or to the point that it starts to take my independence away because that I will no longer tolerate. I think the guys know me well enough to know that I need my independence and that I need to be able to make decisions for myself. At least I hope they do.
"Well you ready to head up? Knowing the guys I am sure they are waiting to hear how your first day of training went." "Yeah I am ready, but I doubt anyone is waiting on me. They have their own lives their own things to do." Tank just shook his head as we made our way to the elevator.
RPOV
It was after six and quitting time for many of these fuckers and yet here they all are hanging around. Maybe I should come up with something for them to do since they like hanging out in the office after hours.
I know why they are hanging out. They all want to hear about my Babe's first day of training. They were nothing but a bunch of Pansies. When it came to my Babe all of the guys might as well just hang up their badass plagues because they were mush in her hands. She had them wrapped around her finger and she didn't even know it. I guess I was no different but I wasn't fucking admitting it to those fuckers, at least not verbally.
I had seen Tank pull into the garage and I was wondering what was taking them so long to get to the fifth floor. Pulling up the feed I could see them talking in the SUV. I was growing impatient but I wasn't going to let that show at least not in front of my men. They all knew she had me wrapped around her finger but I wasn't going to prove it.
Unlike Lester who has paced five times now between the elevator and the control room checking the feed. He never could wait. He knew no control when it came to his mouth or his patience. Not since my Babe entered the picture. No wonder they are best friends hell they are exactly the same. She has no patience either. I have to chuckle to myself thinking about all the ways they are similar.
I am just happy that my men love her accept her protect her. My life is too dangerous if they didn't. I know I can keep her safe with the help of my men and that helps me sleep at night. The knowledge that they will protect her even with their life allows me to find peace with my Babe being in my life. Without them I am not certain I would have ever been able to let her in my life, in my world. I am not certain I would have felt completely capable of protecting her by myself.
I am not a praying man. I do believe in God but with the life I have lived well let's say I am probably not his proudest member of the human race. But when it comes to my Babe I pray. I pray that we will be able to keep her safe, I pray that my enemies won't find her, and I pray that I will be able to spend a long happy life with her in spite of the life I have lived.
I heard the elevator signaling their arrival. I got up and stood in the doorway of my office. I just had to watch the crumbling of the bad asses in this room. They would crumble at her feet like school boys waiting to get the least bit of attention from the head cheerleader. I can't help but think what pansies but then again if she wasn't mine I would probably be out there right along side of the rest of them fishing for a bone of attention from her. Since she was my woman and I was her man I could make fun of them.
Tank walked up to me turning so he could see the show. Chuckling "And she thought they wouldn't be waiting for her. I told her they would all be up here chomping at the bit to talk to her but she didn't believe me." "They have been pacing back and forth I know Lester made five trips to the control room to pull up the garage feed trying to figure out what was keeping you two." "She needed to talk a little I told her about Hector declaring himself her guardian." I knew Tank wasn't going to tell me what they talked about. He didn't work like that. He figured if she wanted me to know then she would tell me but he wasn't going to tell me. "What made you tell her that?" He looked a little sheepishly "Well I said something that caused her to ask me so I had no choice but to tell her." I knew that was all I was going to get from him.
"How did her training go?" "She did good Ranger, I tell you I was impressed with how aware of her surroundings she was when she focused. She did well on the course at the lower speeds so it will just be getting her use to driving at faster speeds and being able to remain aware." "Good I am glad, she has had a good day. I think it is time we celebrate. I will see you tomorrow." He responded "Tomorrow" and then headed for his office as I made my way to my Babe.
Breaking thru the crowd of guys that were around her listening to her tell them about her first day of training I couldn't help but smile. There she was sitting on Lester's lap telling them all about her day and they were riveted to her every word. When she saw me she hopped up off of Lester's lap and jumped into my arms her arms coming around my neck resting on my shoulders. I hold her close to me smiling because she is happy.
"Babe" getting her attention "I take you had a good day?" She nods "Yeah I had a great day." I chuckle nodding my head. I then lower my lips to her ear and whisper "Why don't we take this upstairs and do a little celebrating of our own?" She goes still in my arms and her breathing hitches. "Babe" getting her attention again she blushes then says "Sounds like a plan I am pretty hungry." I have to chuckle.
Looking to the guys "Okay guys break it up party is over for those of you who should be working I suggest you get back to work and for those whose shifts have ended I suggest you leave the floor unless you want us to give you more work." There were a few grunts and of course Lester had to pipe up with some protest but the floor cleared out and we got on the elevator heading to seven.
Tonight we would celebrate her first day of training.