AN: And another chapter for your reading pleasure! Thanks for the reviews and everyone reading it! The traffic problem seems to be fixed! I am super glad there are a lot of people enjoying this!

Chapter 17

An Overdue Breakdown

Every man in RangeMan had their guns drawn toward the conference room. Randy, Victor and Billy were slowly pulling themselves to their feet. They were already angry that one of their brothers was being hurt by Cortez, but they were also worried about how someone they saw as their sister was reacting. The beauty of Elise, they had decided a long time ago, was her ability to act in a cool, calculating manner when the situation called for it.

Right now the situation called for it and she had snapped.

"Report!" Ranger barked at them when he and Julie arrived.

Julie looked in the conference room and made to go into it, but was stopped by Billy. "You don't want to go in there."

"She's my sister." Julie said, her voice brooking no argument.

"Not right now she isn't." Billy held his ground. He knew her family would want to be with her, but her military family, the men here with her, knew what she was capable of in the state she was in. She was deadly in battle, they all were, but there was a rage buried deep in Elise that she used when she was in battle. It helped her survive and it helped them survive as well.

"Sir, Cortez called." Randy said to Ranger. He quickly gave a brief overview of the conversation.

Ranger listened and nodded. He knew what he could expect if he walked into the room. He knew they would have to give Elise time to calm down. Julie was looking at him waiting for a sign that she could go in there. He shook his head at her. Looking at Randy, he said, "Close the door. The window is bulletproof so if she has to destroy anything, we should be safe."

"Dad!" Julie exclaimed.

"Julie." Ranger turned and led her away from the room. "Elise is not going to be in any condition to talk or be rationed with right now. We'll give her time to work through it."

"Will she?" Her voice was small.

"Yes." Ranger said. "She's a fighter. She'll work through it."

Stephanie was stepping off the elevator as she noticed the sudden level of tension in the area. When Ranger and Julie came up to her, she asked "What's happened?"

Grimly he told his wife what happened, and wrapped an arm around her to keep her from going to Elise. "Trust me, Babe. This isn't something you can help with."

She let Ranger take her into his office. He shut the door and locked it, leaving it to be just them. She fell into his arms and tightened her hold on him. "God, Carlos, I hate this!" Her body shook.

"I do too." He murmured, stroking her back reassuringly. They stood that way together for several minutes, soaking each other in, feeding off the minimal comfort they could provide. "I spoke to my contacts at the police station. No one has seen anyone who looks remotely like Cami in any way."

"I almost wish this were her acting out." Stephanie said against his chest. "It would give me a good reason to yell at her for scaring us, but my spidey sense is going off the charts." She leaned back to look at Ranger. "You said you wanted to talk to me on the phone."

"Elise thinks it would be a good idea for us to go the dinner." He said.

"What?"

"I have to agree. If Cortez works the way she says, we might find something out." He explained.

Stephanie narrowed her eyes at him for a moment and stepped out of his arms. Slowly she started nodding. "Yes, and there might be a chance…"

"I thought of that too." Ranger said.

She grinned at him. "It's been a long time since we went undercover."

"Yeah, Babe."

"And I bet," She said walking toward him, "That I can still get you worked up before the night is over."

"Mission accepted, Babe." He chuckled and caught her lips with his.

…

The utter fury coursing through her had her pacing around. Physically she was not strong enough to actually rip the room apart like she wanted to. The death of the phone would have to suffice.

Cortez had Trevor.

Trevor had told her not to give up the information.

Cortez had beaten him.

A low growl escaped her lips.

She wanted blood. She was ready to kill. The fog overruling her common sense was deafening. She could barely see anything. Her hands gripped a chair desperately. Long deep breaths were taken.

Focus.

Control.

Reign in the rage.

Bury it.

Harness it when it was needed.

Elise felt herself snap back into reality. Glancing at the clock she was surprised that two and a half hours had passed by. Usually she was better at controlling her anger, but when she heard Trevor's voice she had lost it.

Gingerly she walked over and opened the conference room door. Well, at least they hadn't locked her in, she thought gratefully. She looked around. Some of the men looked at her, gave her a nod of greeting and returned to their tasks. Most of them had been military, so she could imagine they knew what was going on.

"Elise?"

She turned. Julie was walking up to her carefully.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm thirsty."

Her sister nodded and hurried to the kitchen. She brought back two water bottles. Elise let Julie lead her back into the room. She took a good drink from the bottle. Julie sat on the table watching her.

"So…can you be human for a minute and tell me what's going on?" Julie said when Elise sat next to her.

Elise looked surprised then gave a thoughtful look. Yeah, she could see how her actions lately had given the impression of a robotic attitude. Getting up she closed the door and sat next to her sister. She took a deep breath and said, "I've never snapped like that, Jules. I've always maintained a good sense of self control. I can't afford to snap like that whenever I'm out in battle. But this time…"

"This time it has to do with Trevor." Julie said taking a sip of water. "It's okay to be human, Elise. Perhaps Dad would be better to talk to since he would know what it's like, but from what I can see, you're used to turning off your emotions." She grinned at Elise. "You've always been the observer. Even growing up, but now that you're a key player and your heart is being held by Cortez, you don't know what to do."

Elise stared at the floor and nodded, tears coming to her eyes. She didn't bother to wipe them away when they slipped down her cheeks. She pulled her legs up to her chin. "I hate this. I hate the not knowing. You know he's going to give me a few days to think about giving him information? Smug son of a bitch. I have no idea how much more Trevor is going to be put through but I hate that I'm the cause of it."

"You're not the cause of it." Julie said forcefully. "You were sent in on a mission and you did what you had to do. What you were ordered to do. Cortez is bent out of shape because he lost. Since you were key in the extraction of whatever was needed, he's taking it out on you. If someone is to blame, then blame the guys who sent you on that mission. If it had been someone else, I'm sure they would be targeted too."

"Perhaps." Elise murmured. She swallowed against the lump in her throat.

"It's in your nature." Julie said finally.

"What's in her nature?" They looked over their shoulders and saw Ranger and Stephanie in the room. Ranger was closing the door. Stephanie looked at Elise and walked over. She cupped her cheek and brushed her hair away from her face.

"It's in her nature to try and protect." Julie replied.

"Yes, that's true." Stephanie agreed. "You've been doing it since you were five."

"Since I was five?"

"Yes," She grinned, "When you were five, you decided you were going to go to work with me."

"To protect you from the bad man." Elise whispered, remembering the moment. The rest of the day came back to her. "Dad came to your office for lunch. After lunch, you…you pulled me into your lap and told me if something happened with the bad man that I had to be brave. That Dad and my uncles would protect me." Her body shook suddenly and a long overdue dam broke free. "Oh god, Mom, I don't know how to be brave anymore."

Stephanie held her as she cried. Looking at Ranger with tears in her eyes, her husband crawled onto the table and held her with Stephanie. Julie walked over to the window and shut the blinds. Something told her that having anyone see this moment would be a bad idea.

Husband and wife looked at each other, realizing for the first time that Elise had kept herself quiet and observant to keep herself brave. It had always been survival mode for her. She grew up healthy and loved, but when things got tense she turned on the instincts to survive. She would let herself be seen for who she was with people who loved her, like her family, but that was it.

Her body shook violently, taking the time to have the meltdown that had been on the backburner for so long. Her soul wanted to cleanse itself and in her weakened moment it was taking the time to purge itself and get the grief and agony that fueled the anger out of her. The rage lay dormant, waiting for its intended victim, but the grief of loss had caught up to her and was ripping through her mercilessly.

It seemed to go on forever. Her body felt like it was drained from everything. Her parents holding her was the only thing keeping her upright. Her head was beginning to throb. Finally she just lay there, in the comfort of Stephanie and Ranger's arms, sniffling occasionally.

Julie brought over a bottle of aspirin and offered it to her. "Thanks." She muttered.

"Elise, do you want us to take you home?" Stephanie asked. "Some rest might help."

"I'll go home tonight." She said. "But I still have some work I need to get done here."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"And you mean home, not going to four?" Stephanie asked hopefully.

"I'll be home." Elise smiled at her mother.

"Good." Stephanie stood and grinned at her daughter. "Thanks to your decision to send your father and I on a covert mission at a dinner he's being honored at, I have to find something to wear."

Elise laughed. "Didn't you bring something with you?"

"Yes." Stephanie nodded. "But it's turned into a dual mission. I'd rather not have to go into details."

Elise and Julie groaned.

"Babe."

"Batman."

He shook his head. "You never disappoint."

…

Elise had cornered Billy and was circling him on the mats. He was eyeing her nervously. He wasn't sure what was going on his Captain's head, but something looked calmer in her eyes. He couldn't tell if that meant she was good to go or if the Jaguar in her was coming out to play. Usually they knew, there was something predatory that came to her face when she was in that mode.

She threw the first move, he blocked and she came in for another shot. Again he blocked. When he turned quickly for his own attack he caught in her in the temple accidently. Elise staggered back, shaking her head. Her eyes became unfocused.

"Shit, Captain! Are you okay?" Billy asked coming over to her.

Elise shook her head and backed away from him.

Randy and Victor had been sparring a ways away from them and noticed the sudden change. "Captain?"

Something was cracking. A wall blocking needed memories. The pain was excruciating. She staggered, trying to get away from everyone, but the only thing that succeeded in happening was falling to her hands and knees. She gasped out at the pain as it continued to intensify.

"Shit." Randy raced to an intercom and paged the medical area. "Alan, Bobby! We need you in the gym! Now!"

Elise let out an agonized scream that could be heard on several floors. She clutched her head as the pain seared through so intensely that her body couldn't take it any longer and she passed out.

"What happened?" Bobby demanded as he and Alan arrived and got to her unconscious form.

"We were sparring." Billy explained. "I accidently caught her in the head and she suddenly went down."

"I bet he triggered the memories." Alan said as they looked her over.

"I think you're right." Bobby agreed.

"Oh, god!" Stephanie exclaimed when she entered the gym to see what happened. She rushed to her daughter's side.

"She's going to be okay." Bobby told her. "We'll need to get her home so she can rest."

Stephanie nodded and looked up. Ranger walked over and picked Elise up. She looked at Julie, "Get her things. She'll be home for the night."

...

Elise groaned as she opened her eyes. The lamp beside her bed was lit. Ranger sat beside her bed. "Munchkin. How are you doing?"

"I'll be good as long as I never lose my memory again and have it suddenly forced back." She winced as she sat up. Rubbing her head. "Good news is Diggory will finally get my report on that blasted mission."

Ranger let out a bark of laughter. "Good to hear. Billy is worried I'm going to send him to a third world country for this."

Elise smiled. "Hold onto that threat for a bit, would ya? It'll probably keep him in line for a while."

"Do you have the intel you need to track Cortez better?" Ranger asked.

"Yeah, mostly. I still can't remember what I did with the information I snagged out of his computers, but other than that, I can go up against him again." She grinned. "The boys will like seeing Jaguar come out to play again."