Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize from the Stephanie Plum books belong to Janet Evanovich. The Inferna Angelus' on the other hand are solely mine as is the tiny terror tiger that rules them.

Chapter 49 – Leaving For Colombia

Cedar Creek Behavioral Health Center, Stamping Ground, Kentucky

Don't Baby, please, Esme softly shook her head and wiped the tears away that started to slide down Rubén's cheeks.

She had just told him about her leaving and now his eyes were wide and stricken with fear. Bobby was sitting at Rubén's bedside and held one of his hands while Esme had climbed up onto his bed and held the other one in her lap. She waited for Rubén to calm down; but the tears streamed heavier and heavier.

Baby, she gently leaned her brow against his, closed her eyes and fondled his face. Please, don't cry. That makes leaving so much harder for me, she gave him a soft peck before straightening up again.

The last three days Rubén's catatonic status hadn't progressed further; but with the limited abilities he had, he'd shown Bobby and her clearly that he wanted both of them close and enjoyed their tender caresses and kisses. Bobby was in heaven and for Esme it had been the push she needed to get back her will to fight. Then this morning, Furor called and told her they'd be on their way to pick her up.

"Believe me, Amigo," Bobby now spoke up while rubbing his thumb over the back of Rubén's hand. "I carved it into her mind and heart that she has to come back to us so we can start our someday. She has all the incentives she needs and will fight like a tigress. You know there's no one better than her," Bobby sounded upbeat and cocksure and hoped Rubén's mind was still too foggy to realize that it was just an act.

Slowly the tears became less and less forceful and finally ran dry. Esme felt a feathery tug at her hand.

What do you want, Baby?

After about a minute Rubén's eyes fell down to her mouth and Esme heard Bobby chuckle next to them.

You want a kiss, eh? She thought smiling. You've become quite the snuggle bunny, my knight in shining armor.

Waiting for his whisper soft squeeze to confirm she was right, Esme finally leaned down to tenderly brush her lips over his; from left to right and right to left. Pulling back a few inch she waited for his reaction. His eyes softened and he squeezed her hand; he wanted more. Gently, she nipped at his lower lip and sucked it cautiously between her teeth before releasing it back.

You and Bobby are my heart outside my body. I promise you I'll do everything within my power to come back, she pushed to the two men in the room and then gave Rubén a last tender kiss.

Standing, Esme turned to Bobby who had come around Rubén's bed. They had said their goodbyes and vows at the hotel this morning so there was nothing left to do but hug tight and seal their pledges with one last kiss. It was soft and sweet, fully enjoying the feeling and taste of the other, committing it to memory for the days or perhaps weeks of separation ahead. They'd decided that Cookie would drive Esme to the designated rendezvous so Bobby could stay with Rubén and take care of him in case he became agitated.

"Love you, Baby. We'll be waiting," Bobby whispered a last time against her lips.

Love you more and I know.

Esme gave him a last soft peck, turned and walked out of the door and out of their lives.

Please God, if you hear me, please let her come back to us, Bobby thought as he watched the door close behind her.

"Well Amigo," he turned around to Rubén, sat down on his bed and lovingly pushed his outgrown hair behind his ears. "Now it's just the two of us," he smiled down at him. "We should start planning a surprise for when our little terror tiger returns."

Bobby bent over and kissed Rubén softly. He felt like crawling into bed and wailing like a wounded animal; but he needed to be strong for the man lying in front of him. As soon as he was back at the hotel he'd have to look into flights to Montana to make good on his promise to contact Rubén's parents.

Rangeman, Trenton, New Jersey

"Dismissed," Tank ordered the men to leave the conference room.

Once the last one exited, Tank swiveled his chair and blankly looked out of the windows over the four floor building across the street. Trenton's downtown district could be seen in the background; but Tank had no eyes for anything outside the jumble of thoughts tearing through his mind. Eight days since the mission team under Lester and Ram's command left Trenton and he hadn't heard a single word. He didn't know whether they were still in Georgia, whether T had already met up with them, perhaps they were already in Colombia.

Letting his fist sail down onto the mahogany tabletop, Tank gave in to the frustration he was feeling. He enjoyed the role he had carved for himself within Rangeman. He was the silent backbone of the company and kept the ship moving effortlessly. Never would he want to return to living the half-life of a black ops mercenary; the life Ranger was still leading. A life on the edge where settling down and enjoying the fruits of one's labor is impossible because who knows when you'll be called on a mission. Now, for the first time since they all founded Rangeman and he retired from active duty, Tank felt himself reaching his limits. The Trenton office was running on fumes with all the men beyond exhausted and frustrated. Tank had drastically reduced their workload; skips just above hundred thousand dollar bonds, no new security clients and no government work. Ranger's irrational and aggressive behavior had reached the rumor mills and four clients filed suits for damages taken place within the last month. Trenton was no longer running cost-effectively and the other branches had been advised to help in any capacity to save the jobs of their colleagues here.

Tank sighed and rubbed his hands over his shaved head. He worried about Ranger's health and for the well-being of Lester and Ram. He feared for the team his two dearest friends were leading on this hellish mission. He was concerned for Bobby, who had totally turned his back on his brothers, not that Tank could fault him; but this mission could potentially destroy his emotionally fragile friend. Then there was T, the spitfire that clawed her way into his heart. Tank feared for T the most.

So far, NISE had cost two assassins and two Rangemen their lives and there was still at least one traitor among them who was responsible for supplying Ranger with the drug cocktail. In addition, Rodríguez was incapacitated, Bobby had left Rangeman probably forever and Lester wasn't too far behind him. Ranger was seriously ill and T was out their standing up to a more powerful enemy than Tank ever had to face. He wanted to lash out and pummel someone or hit Stark and beat the shit out of every criminal who dared to cross his path. That would help to get rid of the destructive energy in him; but what Tank wanted most of all was to be part of the mission team and mow down that filth in Colombia with his own hands. Instead, he was sitting here, powerless, hoping everything turned out OK because from here on out there was nothing he could do to help his friends. From now on, it was touch and go for Rangeman Trenton and everybody connected to them.

Grabbing his ringing cell phone that was clipped to his belt Tank roughly barked, "Talk!"

"Tank?" A soft female voice answered. "Carmen here. Carlos is making progress. He talked to me, well a few sentences; but he agreed to voluntarily take the anti-depressants and stabilizer."

"Thank God," the giant black men whispered with closed eyes. "That's the best news of the day, Carmen. Thank you for calling me. I'll check in with you when I come over later."

Clipping the cell back to his belt Tank leaned his head against the head cushion of the chair, took a deep breath and slowly let go of some of the tension in him. Ranger was improving, things may soon be looking better.

An abandoned field outside Stamping Ground, Kentucky, far away from any housing

Cookie and T were waiting in his Explorer as they could hear the telltale noise of an approaching chopper.

"Take good care of them," T turned to the huge black man next to her knowing he understood she meant Bobby and Rubén.

"You can count on me, Tiger," he answered in his deep bass voice and squeezed her hand.

As T got out of the car, a black fly seemed to drop out of the sky growing larger and louder as it descended upon its rendezvous point. Calmly she started to walk toward the middle of the field as the Pave Hawk with its four huge additional tanks seemingly aimed to crush her. The noise was deafening. Ten yards above her, the pilot positioned the chopper downward so that it was hovering a foot above the ground. The sliding door was pulled open and after a few long strides T grabbed Furor's hand and was pulled into the Pave Hawk. Barely inside the chopper, she turned and with her feet still dangling in midair; she sent a last wave to her friend while the pilot circled Cookie's Explorer and vanished from sight.

You OK? She heard Furor ask in her mind.

Rev and Agony were helping out as co-pilot and engineer so she was alone with him, Button and CP.

Yeah; but it was hard. Rubén got a little agitated; but calmed down soon enough and now the only important thing is that I come back to them, she thought.

We all need to come back, Angel. Pain and I want to become grand-pas after all, he hugged her as well as he could in spite of the thick helmets they were each sporting.

What's the latest word from Rage and V?

They could isolate Escobar's laboratories on one ample valley. They left Cúcuta this morning to meet up with us on the other side of the range, Furor replied.

Ram's GPS?

Activated and working perfectly. We won't have trouble locating them in the mountains.

T made herself comfortable next to Furor and accepted the water bottle he was handing her.

So far, so good; let's go get us some bad guys, she smiled demonically at him.

Blue Ridge Wildlife Management Area, north of Camp Merrill, Georgia

Lester? Ram? T connected herself with the minds of the two men. We have you in sight. Furor will now come down to your camp. Act surprised.

T made herself comfortable on a huge boulder and nodded to her second in command to move down the slope to Camp Rangeman.

"Yo. Furor?" Knock and Scotch were the first to see him. "What the hell are you doing here?"

T sat on her boulder about four hundred yards above them and listened in to what was going on in the minds of the men. She needed to know whether any one of the remaining Rangemen was anxious about their arrival, thinking about how to reach out to DuPuits or any other part of NISE to inform them.

Meanwhile, all the men were up and surrounding Furor who was chatting with them, giving them some humbuck about how the IAs were here for a training and he picked up their trail and wanted to say hello. After ten minutes and the Rangemen being nothing but happy about meeting Furor, T spread her net over all their minds and made them aware of her presence.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm happy to see ya all so well fed and trained. Hope you are ready to serve at my beck and call, she smiled as she jumped down the boulder and together with Agony and Rev jogged down the slope to the surprised mission team.

"Fuck, T, I serve under your command any day of my life; but what are you all really doing here?" Vince asked stunned.

We are here to pick up your sorry asses. Effective immediately, I am taking command over the mission. You have half an hour to get ready; our ride awaits us on the other side of the hill. Operation Escobar starts, she looked at her wrist watch, NOW.

The Rangemen scurried away like a bunch of ants at a picnic. Within thirty minutes, the camp was packed up and each man reported he was ready to leave. They reached the chopper just under an hour later and the Rangemen were visibly taken aback by the imposing Pave Hawk with its additional tanks that suddenly appeared in front of them on a more than narrow clearing, guarded by Button and CP.

Ladies, your chariot, T stepped it up a notch while the rotor blades started to move.

The last ass had barely hit the floor of the chopper when the pilot soared out of the forest.

Rev and Agony are in the cockpit. Rage and V are already in Colombia. We're heading to a small privat airfield where an unmarked plane is waiting for us. We'll perform a HALO jump once we reach the target zone. Knock, Scotch, you will each get an experienced jump partner; probably Furor and CP. We'll just have a very short window for the jump and will rendezvous on the backside of the mountain range that encircles the target zone. Everybody is responsible for his partner. No radio communication. Should anyone of you get lost, T tipped a finger at her helmet, I'll find 'em.