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Standard FF disclaimers apply.
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I Need You.
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"No," Hector said again. "We can not contact Ranger." His frustration showed. It was reasonable that Ranger did not want to be disturbed on his honeymoon. Everyone understood that. But it was now a matter of international importance. Tank sighed, "I was afraid of this," he said. "It was a good thought, but if we can't get the message to him..." he left it at that. They all knew that there was no point in trying to find him. Hopefully Tom's people would be get there in plenty of time.
Immediately, they told Tom that even though Ranger was in the right location, there was no way to get him involved. He was surprised when Tom just shrugged. Yeah, it would have been convenient to have Ranger take care of this. But they did have some men already in transit to intercept the man who they knew as Morboso. It wouldn't be too much longer before they were in place.
The whole operation depended on secrecy and timing. All of the agents needed to be in place to make their moves at the same time. It would be disastrous if any one one of these arms dealers got word of the traps. If they got away now, they would go into hiding and who knows when they would emerge again. These people were far more dangerous when they did their business behind the many shields that they could create. The fact that they had been deliberately lulled into a false sense of security for the past couple of years had been part of the plan to get them out of their holes.
Knight's discovery had let them know just how well the plan had worked. The fact that their intel could find each of these men, and showed exactly where they had been, meant that they all thought that they had no reason to hide. Of course they were watching Wyvern even more closely now. They had seen him arrive in the airport. The agents had followed him to a hotel only blocks away from the Humelik offices. Then they had seen him go to another location. A house in the outskirts of the city. The two men that were following him were still there, waiting for him to leave.
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There was a quiet hush as they stepped out on to the beach. The silvery light of the moon created a glow that was enough to illuminate the sands and light their way. Stephanie kicked up some sand, and caught a glimpse of her foot. 'Diva' the box that held these shoes had said. The turquoise criss cross straps nearly glowed in the dark. Stephanie laughed, earning a raised eyebrow from Ranger.
"The note that they left with these shoes said that we would not slip on the deck when we wore them," she said. Ranger laughed with her.
"I wonder if they will be okay with us wearing them on the beach instead of the deck," he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as they walked. He had to give them credit. While his family may have gone overboard in their enthusiasm to help him with their honeymoon, they had thought of some things that he never would have. And right now he was glad they had thrown in the water shoes. Walking along the beach in moonlight is not romantic if you step on something sharp. In fact it could ruin the mood completely!
Soon all thoughts of what they had on their feet were forgotten. The sky was filled with brightly twinkling stars. A soft breeze gently brushed their clothes and delivered the sharp salty scent from the water. The ocean shimmered, reflecting the glowing beams of moonlight. They walked slowly, arms wrapped around each other, their thoughts on the magic that they felt when they were with each other like this.
Up ahead was a grouping of trees that jutted out onto the sandy beach, from where they were, it looked like a dark shape void of light, but as they got closer, they could see that a few benches had been placed among the low lying branches. They stopped to sit on the blocky cement seats to look out over the view. The ship was still out there, all lit up.
Staring out, Stephanie absently grabbed Ranger's hand and wove her fingers through his. She did not realize what she had done, until he lifted their joined hands and kissed her knuckles gently. "What are you thinking?" he asked. "You seem far away."
Turning to gaze up into his eyes, she smiled. "Do you remember that night, after the wedding phone call?" she asked him. He cocked his head to the side, wondering. Then he nodded.
"I stood next the window as we talked. There was a big moon glowing that night too." Again he nodded. He clearly remembered that night. He had rocked Mat in his arms while he had talked to Stephanie. The only light in the room had been from the moon shining in through the open curtains.
"I had never felt so far away from you, or so close to you, all at the same time," she whispered. Ranger closed his arms around her and hugged her tightly to him. She laid her head on his shoulder. It was odd, but she felt the same way tonight.
Suddenly she asked, "What are you feeling right now?"
Of course, that question took him by surprise. But, by the tremble in her voice, he knew that this was not a random or frivolous query. So he examined exactly what had been going through his mind. And if he was honest with himself, and with her, he was scouting out the end of the peninsula that they could just see through the branches behind them. There had been some movement and he was not entirely comfortable not knowing what it was. He started trying to explain it in terms that would not sound alarming. He was always aware of his surroundings, it was second nature, and he had his wife to protect tonight. It was natural to want to feel safe.
Stephanie put her fingers over his mouth in the middle of the explanation. She nodded to let him know that she understood.
"I feel funny all of a sudden," she said softly. "Like something is not right."
At that moment, they heard voices. Ranger pulled Stephanie down behind the bench, crouching low in its dark shadow. He looked back at the way they had come. With no cover on the flat beach, they could not make it back to their room unnoticed. They would have to stay hidden until they could figure out what was going on.
The rapid spanish continued. They were speaking in what amounted to stage whispers. But the words were completely clear to Ranger. He looked up, now he could make out the silhouettes of the men, and they were coming closer. He recognized the tone of voice now, the arrogant manner. He knew that voice.
He shrank back, shielding them from view. How he hated the man walking towards them. From the shiny top of his bald head to the tip of his highly polished boots, the corpulent man reeked of self importance. What was he doing here? He was absolutely the last person on earth that he wanted to see.
Before Ranger could move, the men came into the thicket of trees and El Morboso sat heavily on the bench. Stephanie drew back a bit further into the shadow of her husband. Her eyes were wide with confusion, fear. Ranger pulled her close, and silently pressed a kiss on top of her head. Something about his posture changed and stephanie looked up at him. Ranger had a look of steely determination. She knew that the strange feelings that she had felt had come from these men. Something was very wrong with this situation. And although she knew she wasn't going to like it, she knew that Ranger was going to have do something about it before they got into trouble.
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Over the years, Tom had uncovered dozens of small illegal arms scams, the players had been selfish and small time. They were stopped and locked away, but they never had led to the big problem, to the men who he was after. The sophisticated and dangerous game of the arms dealers, some of whom had even influenced the rise and fall of nations. Among them were the mercenary sellers. Out to make as much money as they could, but there were others who were far more dangerous. They played god by offering just the right weapon for the results that they wanted. They were known to contact unscrupulous leaders in governments, suggesting plans of action that would bring them power, but would ultimately result with these leaders playing right into their hands. It was just regrettable that some of these same government officials ended up as casualties of the very wars that they started. New, specially chosen leaders took their places. Most of them never realizing that they were nothing more than puppets for these men who pulled their strings.
That is what made these men so dangerous. They were not selling weapons solely to make a profit. Their goal was much more devious than that. They wanted to gain power, and they were doing it one small nation at a time. Tom would not rest until they were stopped. That was his mission.
Through the night, Tom worked with the team to be sure that all the agents were ready. Knight was in New York, she had just settled in to guard the Humelik building when she got word that the house Wyvern was supposed to be in had exploded. Kara shook her head, she knew exactly what was happening, how many times had she told the team that the guy was the ultimate professional. He had probably spotted the men following him and he had led them out there to get rid of them. She hoped that the agents had not been injured in the blast. But her focus was now on the big man sneaking back into his hotel room.
She kept her eyes on him. The surveillance camera, that they had planted while he had been gone earlier, showed him laying on top of the bed. Apparently resting, now that he thought that no one knew where he was. Looks like the man is going to keep his appointment with Ed in the morning, Kara thought. How civilized of him, she nearly sneered. She had hated this man for over a year. Her feelings had not changed.
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A thousand thoughts were going through his head. None of this had been planned. Ranger did not want to do what he knew he had to, not with Stephanie here. This man sitting just a few feet from him was one of the worst kind of human beings that ever walked the earth. What was he doing here, he wondered.
They had usually known Morboso to stay in the most exclusive hotels, hiding behind his body guards. What had brought him out tonight? As far as Ranger could tell, he only had two men with him. Why would he do that? Shephanie's gut feelings, her spidey sense, served her well again. There was definitely something not right here. Ranger was torn between wanting to get her out of here safely, and taking action to bring this guy down. He was at a loss, not knowing what would be the best thing to do.
Ranger felt her hand pull his chin around so that she could look at him. Stephanie smiled, kind of a half smile and motioned toward the fat man sitting there. She kissed his cheek and her hand then touched the gun that she knew he carried holstered around his ankle. As she pulled back into the trees a little bit more, he nodded at her and then made his move.
Sneaking around the back of one of the trees, he stealthily moved down to the end of the peninsula to scout out the situation, and make sure that there were no more guards anywhere. Near the water was a shallow barge-like boat. It had been dragged up on the sandbar of the inlet leading to a small cove. The flat boat had boxes piled up about three feet high, but they were mostly covered with the tarp that was tied down on top, securing as well as concealing the cargo. An open top dune buggy was parked just beyond the barge, it must have been the only means to get the little fat man out here, he sure wouldn't have been able to walk the distance in his condition. But why was he here? It wasn't like Morboso to do his own dirty work.
Morboso had only brought two guards to accompany him tonight. It was not like him at all either. Whoever his clients were, they had made some very specific demands on the delivery of the goods. Ranger would let this work to his advantage. First he grabbed the guard who had been keeping watch near the barge. With his arm securely against his throat, Ranger silently choked him until he passed out, then he lowered the limp body down onto the wet sand. He reached into the nearest end of the boat and found some extra rope. Quickly he bound the hands and feet of the guard and pulled him behind the trees. The other guard was going to be more of a challenge, because of his proximity to Morboso. Ranger looked over to see the man move closer to where Stephanie was hiding. His heart started to pound. He needed to get him away from her. He jumped into the dune buggy and raced it around to the benches.
The fat man struggled to stand up as he saw the car coming closer, he was angry. This was not the plan, they were to discreetly wait to meet with their contact tonight. His body guard moved forward attempting to divert the small vehicle away from his boss. Ranger swerved around him and circled back to head right for him. The man jumped out of the way at the last minute, stumbling in the sand. Ranger allowed just a hint of a smile. The bigger they are, the harder they fall, he thought. Coming around at him again, he spun past Morboso, turning tight while slamming on the brakes and spraying him with sand. The corpulent man started screaming obscenities in spanish while his pudgy hands attempted to rub the sand out of his eyes. Ranger jumped out of the car to neutralize the bodyguard who was still trying to stand up.
Tackling him, Ranger easily brought him down, but before he had a chance to get to his gun, the large man tried to prove that he was not giving up without a fight by pulling out a knife. The glint off the blade in the moonlight made Stephanie gasp from her hiding place. No one could hear her, not with the noise Morboso was making. She watched the flash of the blade as it slashed through the air and she knew that she had to do something. She had not brought any weapons of her own, and was starting to feel helpless when she bumped against a fallen branch. It wasn't huge, but it was big enough that it could do some damage. Stephane grabbed it and tossed it on the ground close to Ranger. In a smooth movement he stooped to grab it, missing the swipe of the knife over his head, and brought it up like a bat into the ribcage of his attacker.
As the man doubled over, Ranger swung the branch up and slammed into his face, breaking his nose and knocking him out. Morboso was still howling, blinking his eyes trying to see what had just happened to his hired muscle. When he started to yell at him to get up, Ranger had had enough of the horrible little man. He turned to deal with him when he saw two more men approaching them.
Now he brought his gun up to point at them, and he moved slowly toward Stephanie. She was not standing, but she was no longer hidden, and he did not want to take any chances. The men watched the movement and stopped, understanding that he was protecting her and knowing that they had found the man who had done their job for them. Immediately they moved in to subdue Morboso and they identified themselves, letting Ranger know that they were part of Tom's team.
At that point Stephanie rushed into Ranger's arms. He held her closer that he had ever held her before, the adrenaline still pumping through his system. Tom's men quickly explained that the clients were going to be showing up any minute, and they were prepared with backup to take them in with Morboso and his goons. They asked Ranger and Stephanie to hide again, in the cover of the trees. It was determined that they still did not have enough time to safely make it back to their room without being seen. As much as he did not want to be here any more, Ranger was more than glad to give the responsibility for this mission right back to these men. It was a game he did not want to play any longer.
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The drive into New York was uneventful. Tank and the guys were in place, out of sight and ready for the meeting to take place. Tom and Brian were directed to the room that Kara had been hiding out in all night. The introductions were quickly made and they all got back to their jobs. Kara smiled as she went back to her surveillance. she had always wondered what Vapour would be like. Now she knew. He had as commanding a presence in person as she had always felt when she had talked to him. But it was the other man she had met, Dr Taylor, that occupied her mind now. She stole a glance his way. What was it about him that kept her thoughts on him?
It was interesting to watch Tom now. Brian was amazed at the authority that he had over this team. Now everything made sense to him. The hiding places for their research. The short trips that Tom had made frequently. The conversations about the implications of his work, and the way Tom had made him realize that in the wrong hands it could be dangerous.
On the surface, it looked like Brian could have had reason to be upset that Tom had used him. But a by product of having spent so much time together was that Brian knew Tom, knew that he was an honorable man. And more than anything else, Brian trusted him. Had trusted him with his life on more than one occasion. He was glad to be here right now. Watching Tom and the team as they got ready to take out the man who had been trying to misuse his formula for the wrong reasons. He was actually very angry to know that it could happen, and to see some of the men responsible for it. He was not quite sure what he was going to do when he saw Ed Aslak or Leo Markus again.
But at the moment, his focus was on something else entirely. Brian was watching Kara Knight. From the moment Tom had introduced them, he had been unable to clearly think of anything else. Brian had not considered himself a romantic. He had never really given it any thought. But somehow everything had changed for him in the moment he had looked into her eyes. He still felt a little star-struck. And he was not sure what he was going to do about this either.
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All around the globe, the top players in an international game of espionage and arms dealings were under the careful watch of Tom's team with the help from Ranger's men. Word from all of them was constantly being relayed back to the home base, and Tom was keeping his eyes on the information flowing in. In Miami, Spain, Greece, Sweden, Egypt,Iraq, Uzbekistan, Canada, Venezuela, they were all in place and ready to move. Tom looked at his watch, in another two hours, the work he had been doing for so long would be mostly over.
As he let that thought sneak in, Tom's eyes wandered around the room. Men on the computers were keeping track of the rest of the team, Kara was helping while at the same time watching Wyvern. Brian was keeping discreetly in the background, but he was highly alert and carefully watching the activity going on.
Tom turned back around and looked at Kara. He was glad to have finally met her. He was equally glad that she was no longer in Sweden. Not that she had not been up to the challenge of the job, it was just that he had always felt responsible for her safety and she had been alone there for so long. Their weekly check in was his way of knowing that she was okay. She reminded him of his sister, headstrong and opinionated and extremely loyal. All of these traits and more described Kara too. And like his family, Tom was relieved to know that she was safe.
Just as he moved closer to look at the screen showing the map, Tom saw Kara turn her head ever so slightly to look at … Brian. He was surprised and watched for a moment longer to be sure that was what he saw. Then he looked at Brian. A slight reddening of his cheeks was the only outward sign that he could see that indicated that Brian was well aware of Kara's glances. Tom smiled as he once again looked at the monitor.
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