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Chapter 22

Stalking

Elise and Julie grinned at each other. Their little sister was something else and at this moment they couldn't be gladder of it. They looked over the paper at the code waiting for deciphering. Both of them frowned.

"Shit." Elise sighed.

"What?" Lester asked.

The men in the room, Ranger included, were staring at the two of them. Clearly they had some explaining to do. Julie spoke. "I was up in Trenton visiting one summer. Cami was five, and she came running up to me and Elise saying she wanted to be a spy."

"So being the helpful sisters we are," Elise picked it up, "We helped her create a code only the three of us would know."

"And apparently she managed to email us from wherever Ortega has her." Julie held up the sheet.

Ranger grinned. "That's my girl."

"Well, where does it say she is?" Tank demanded. "We can get her back."

"Umm…"They both looked slightly guilty. Elise finally said, "I don't remember all of that code. I was fifteen. It's been nearly twelve years."

"But if Cami remembered it…" Julie said thoughtfully.

Elise was pulling out her phone. "CJ? Are you home? Do us a favor and grab Cami's laptop and come back to RangeMan. Of course we're breaking into it. You're not a girl, CJ, you don't get to see what our sister's diary says about you. CJ!"

She hung up and shook her head. "He's worse than a girl sometimes!"

"She'd password protect it." Julie pointed out.

"The whole computer too." Elise sighed. Then turned her look to Victor. "Vic, I need you to hack into my sister's computer."

"Um…" Vic looked a little nervous. "How like you is she, Captain?"

"Why?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Cuz the last time he hacked into your computer you made him do Pilates for a month with you." Billy snickered.

"We will make sure Cami doesn't force you into any Pilates." Julie told him. "But if she remembered that code, she'd have it written down somewhere."

"Since she's good with computers, logically, she'd keep it on her computer." Elise said. "Besides, you weren't hacking into my computer for the greater good. You were hacking into mine because you let Billy convince you that finding a way to meet my dad was as important as finding a cure for AIDs."

"Dude." Billy looked offended.

"What are you complaining for?" Victor shot him a death glare. "I'm the one who had to do Pilates with her!"

"Munchkin."

Elise could hear the dry humor in her father's voice. "What? He never went near my computer without my permission again."

When CJ finally arrived with the laptop Victor went to work on hacking through it. At one point Victor let out a low whistle and said with admiration, "Damn, this girl is amazing." It took him several hours to successfully hack through to her hard drive.

During those hours, Ranger's core team was getting ready for their stake out with their new friend. Elise had to smile when she watched her dad and uncles go through their motions. It had been years since any of them had gone on a takedown. She could tell they were all glad to be getting back out in the field to keep their toes wet.

"I'm in." Victor finally announced. He sounded exhausted. Elise, Julie, Ranger, CJ and Stephanie came in the room. Victor was rubbing his eyes. "Shit, Captain, your sister…she's fucking good. I didn't think I was going to get through."

"Okay, so what do we have?" Elise asked.

"We have homework, journal, and a living will—"

"Wait, why does she have a will on her computer?" Stephanie asked.

"I have one." CJ, Julie and Elise all said simultaneously.

Elise looked up at her mother. She was looking at all three of them in shock. "I set mine up right before I left for the Army. Just in case."

"Always be prepared." CJ said not looking at his mother. He kept his focus on the computer in front of them.

"I'm not entirely sure how I feel about all of you having wills at this juncture of your life." Stephanie said faintly, but she understood it. Three of them had Ranger's preparation attitude, and when it came to Elise she knew she was all too aware of the fragility of life.

"Ahh. I bet that's it." CJ pointed at a document that was labeled I Spy.

Victor opened it and found it locked. "Any ideas what it could be?" He was worn out from hacking into the computer.

The three siblings looked at each other, all with questioning looks on their faces. Julie and Elise were doing their best to recall that summer so they could provide some sort of help for Victor.

"Richard was right." Stephanie said to Ranger. "Cami is like a chameleon. I would never have guessed she has a will."

"Chameleon." Julie snapped her fingers. "Try that."

Victor typed in the word and grinned when it came up. Julie and Elise slapped their hands together in triumph when they saw the codes they had created when they were younger.

"Okay, so you two need to get away from the computer." Elise said.

"Why?" CJ asked.

"Sister Confidentiality." Julie said. "She'll understand us getting the code, but not sharing it."

Victor and CJ shared a look that said they clearly didn't get but, wisely moved away from the computer while Elise and Julie took pen to the paper with the coded email on it. The four people in the room watched with fascination as Elise's pen flew across the paper, her eyes barely leaving the monitor. Julie was just as focused. There were a few hms, and a few corrections, but finally they looked at the paper with a look of triumph.

"Hey, what's going on?" Billy asked walking into the room. He'd been helping the others get the preparations ready for the night. He looked at Elise and saw the predatory glint in her eyes. "Jaguar's out to play."

"His address." Julie grinned at Ranger and Stephanie. "She emailed his address."

Stephanie felt excitement bubble up inside her. "We can go get her."

"Not yet." Elise replied.

"What do you mean not yet?"

"He's after Elise, which means he's going to be well protected." Victor said leaning back. "We'll have to get stock of how many men he's got, the weaponry, etc. If we don't, we risk going in guns blazing and possibly having everyone killed."

"He'll have upped the guard count since last time." Billy said leaning back against the wall and folding his arms over his chest. "Someone has to go get a rough layout of the place."

Stephanie took the address from Julie. She frowned when she looked at it. "This didn't come up in my research."

"Probably in someone else's name." Ranger said.

"So who is going to go and scout the place?" CJ asked.

Victor and Billy both looked at Elise. She folded her arms over her chest, an evil smile tugging at her lips. "Ready or not, here I come."

…

Darkness fell across the sky, helping her blend in with her surroundings. She bit back the grin that threatened to overwhelm her. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she crept to her destination. As her family prepared to eavesdrop on Ortega's phone call to their prisoner, Elise was busy looking at his estate. It was a beach mansion, but there was enough vegetation that she could hide against. So far she'd counted six cameras. She'd found the security box, electrical box and had counted at least a dozen guards patrolling the large estate. Since it was only her, evading them would be easy.

Careful soldier, her inner voice said, don't get too cocky here. It could get you killed. She had no doubt in her mind that it would if she wasn't being prepared already. Knowing she was strapped with at least three guns, four or five knives and a few other tricks, she let her lips peel into the grin she had been trying to hide.

She ducked out of sight when she heard a garage door open and close. There was a car peeling away, followed by another. People had left. From what she remembered from last time, Ortega didn't believe in putting cameras into his home, just on the outside where he was likely to catch whoever dared consider breaking into his private property. Fortunately for her, she had managed to time out the cameras and knew when she could and couldn't move. This was too easy, she decided, but then she was one of the best for a reason.

Peering around the house where she was certain the camera couldn't catch her; she looked upward and saw a light on. She could only assume it was a bedroom. There was a window on the ground, one that was open. Needing to assess what they had to deal with she crept over to it silently and swiftly, avoiding the looks from anyone who would be patrolling the area.

A look into the window gave her confirmation that Ortega did indeed have Trevor. He was sitting in a cell looking beaten up, but nothing appeared to be broken. He was still in his army wear. Her heart thudded wildly for a moment when he looked up and appeared to look straight at her. With a wicked smile his direction she held her finger up to her lips, warning him not to say anything. She caught the wink he sent her letting her know he'd seen her. Good.

Moving away from the window she focused her attention back to the lit window. She needed to reassure herself that Cami was alive and unharmed. If they were going to get her out safely, they needed to know where she was. Using her skills as a gymnast, she hoisted herself up the drainage pipe and scaled along the wall, careful to continue avoiding cameras and the security guards. They were dumb, she decided. They were only watching outwardly, but then they had never dealt with her either. She could have easily killed all of them on her way in, but without back up she'd be walking into a suicide mission.

As she came up to the window, she jiggled it quietly, finding it opened easily. She peered in. The bedroom didn't look like something Ortega would stay in himself. It was too feminine. Sliding in the room she shut the window carefully before tuning to inspect the room. The warming feeling from her dog tags told her that this was the room Cami was being kept in. Ortega was archaic, she knew that much. He would treat his female prisoners with respect. It was the only thing that had kept her calm when she found that Cortez and Ortega were the same person.

A noise behind her made her whirl around and catch the object flying toward her head. "Shit, Cami!"

"Elise?" Shock registered in Cami's voice as she took in the appearance of her older sister. "Oh, god!" Cami dropped the statue and lunged forward into Elise's arms. She shuddered as she felt her sister hold on to her comfortingly. "What are you doing here?"

"I spy." She said simply.

Cami pulled back and smiled. "You figured it out?"

"Sort of." Elise smiled back. "We had to hack into your laptop for the code, but we understood the intent of the email when we got it."

"Thank God." She sighed. "I wasn't sure if you'd figure it out."

Elise took a good look at her sister. There were angry bruises on her upper arms. Her cheek was sporting a nasty looking bruise as well. "Did Ortega do this to you?" Fuck safety, she'd kill the bastard right now for hurting her sister.

Cami shook her head. "No, it was Drake."

"Drake?" Elise stilled.

"He…" Cami took a shuddering breath. "Chris found out that Rick got a message to Mom and Dad about where I am. He dragged Rick away earlier. I don't know where he's at, but I know Chris was beating him up pretty badly. Anyway, Drake came into the entertainment room, where I was waiting and he um…he-he…."

"Did he rape you?" She demanded.

"No." Cami blinked back tears. "No, he tried, but I fought him away. Dad would be proud. Anyway, Chris came in and found Drake and told me to get back here. I didn't hesitate. He and Drake both left a few minutes ago. I'm locked in until he comes back. I don't think he wants me trying to find Rick."

"Cami, I need you to describe Drake." Something was nagging in the back of her mind, something vitally important. As she listened to her sister's description the only thing she could think was Fuck. Another thought occurred to her. "How did you get that message to us? Can you access the computer again?"

"No, I can't." Cami answered. "Chris didn't let me or Rick near any electronics that we could use to get away from him with. He treats us like guests with no fun."

"Then how did…"

"He left the office door open when he came to get Rick earlier." Cami said. "I snuck in and as long as I heard Rick being beaten I knew Chris wasn't coming back. I have to assume he hasn't been back into his office though."

"Why?"

"I…sort of lost my temper and wiped out his hard drive." Cami said calmly.

Elise grinned and held down the laugh that threatened to burst out. "Good girl, Cam." She looked outside, "I've got to go."

"Wait, you're not here to take me back now?" Cami clutched her sister's hand.

"Cami, I can't." Elise shook her head. "I was only supposed to scout the house and make sure you were here. With Rick and Trevor both in the basement, and you here, I need my whole team to make sure everyone comes out alive."

"But when will you come back?" She asked softly.

"Soon." Elise grinned. "Real soon."

…

The prisoner had been helpful after all, Ranger thought as they hauled him back into one of the holding cells. Whatever Ortega had planned was going down in a few days. He was going to have the Manoso household watched for three more days and then he would take his man off that job.

Lester clapped his cousin on the back. "I've missed doing things like that. Too bad we're not that young anymore."

Ranger chuckled. "Definitely. Where's Elise?" He asked when Kyle appeared.

"Not back yet." Kyle replied. "It's not unusual though. It'll probably be a few more hours before we hear from her."

Elise showed up about ten minutes after that, surprising all her men when she picked up the phone and made quick phone call. After hanging up, she walked to the conference room and sat down to wait.

"Elise, what happened?" Randy asked as they came into the room.

She didn't answer. Instead, she drummed her fingers against each other as she sat there contemplatively. Elise didn't notice when her father came into the room, or her mother. She was completely focused on her thoughts.

What she did notice was when General Diggory boomed out, "Donahue! You better have a good reason for dragging us down here at this time of night."

"Generals." Elise continued to sit where she was at. She was retired and she didn't have to get up if she didn't want to.

"Elise, what's going on?" Dillon asked.

"General Diggory, General Dillon, can you tell me the location of Drake Johnson?" Elise asked quietly.

Stephanie heard the sharp intake of breath from Elise's men. She watched carefully as Diggory shook his head. "He's been declared KIA since your mission dealing with Ortega." She knew that much. They hadn't been able to find him. Even through the pain of the injuries she had been sustaining, she had sent her men back to get Johnson.

"I assure you, he was not KIA." Elise growled. "He's very much alive."

"Can you verify this?"

"My little sister did." Elise said as calmly as she could. "I'm sure Alan or Randy has made you aware of the family situation we have going on here." At their nods she continued, "This afternoon we found that Cortez has my sister, along with Trevor. My sister was able to get a message to us in a creative way. She sent us the address she's being held at."

"You're positive she's at that address?" Diggory asked. His attitude had shifted when he heard Cami was taken by Cortez. He had a daughter of his own and would be tearing up the city she lived in to find her. He was also aware that that had been precisely what Manoso had been doing.

"I went there tonight to make sure."

"What did you find?"

"I found that Drake Johnson is very much alive and attempted to rape her." Elise gripped the arms of the chair. She refused to look at her parents. "Lucky for us, Ortega/Cortez is archaic enough to make sure women captives aren't raped or hurt. He stopped it."

"Johnson's turned traitor." Dillon said. Diggory nodded.

"You have a plan?" Diggory asked.

"Yes."

"Good. Let us know when it's complete. Bring back your sister and Trevor alive." Diggory and Dillon nodded at her and left.

"What's the plan, Captain?" Billy asked.

She turned her look to them. "Gentlemen. It's time to lock and load."