Your patience has been greatly appreciated, as have your reviews. Here's another chapter for your perusal.

Steph's POV

Lula's revelation about Paradis' whereabouts for those 5 years was an interesting one. I'm not sure that I'd have come up with the same conclusion if I was presented with that same information. Lula really is one smart cookie!

Carlos and I were on our way to Ron's. We had a photo to show Julie, but I also wanted to show it to Ron. It was possible that he knew the man or that their paths crossed at one point in time, so I wanted to make sure that Ron had a look as well. Depending on what Ron and Julie said, we might even have to show the photo to the younger two kids.

Carlos gave Ron a call to let him know that we were going to stop by. Carlos gave him a very brief description of the purpose of our visit. He promised to fill Ron in as soon as we got there. I looked over at Carlos and wondered what he was thinking. He hadn't said a word since we climbed into the car so I was worried that he might have serious misgivings about asking Julie for help. No kid should have to go through this sort of thing and she and the rest of her family have been through so much already.

We pulled up in front of the house and all four of the Martines came out to greet us. Emma was happy to see us and basically threw herself at Carlos. Luckily he was getting used to this and caught her mid-air. Diego smiled, but it was obvious that he was still feeling pain about his mother. Neither Julie nor Ron was smiling, but they didn't seem annoyed at our presence or anything.

I hung out with the kids and let Emma drag me into her room while Carlos stayed out with Ron and explained the reason for our visit. Julie must have stayed as well. Either that or she decided to go to her room rather than join Emma and Diego and I. We stayed in there for about 20 minutes before Carlos came looking for me.

"Babe, can you come out and join us? I think it would help if you were here for Julie."

I stood up and said, "Sure, I'll be right there."

I looked down at Emma and Diego and said, "If you stay here, I'll be back shortly and we can finish our game."

I left the kids in Emma's room and headed out to the patio where Julie and Ron were sitting. I picked up my handbag and pulled out the photo of Henry Paradis and I handed it to Julie.

"Do you recognise the man in this picture Julie?"

Julie looked at the picture, showed it to Ron and said, "That's Mr Rogers. He was my third grade teacher. He was also Diego's first grade teacher a few years later. Why do you have a picture of Mr Rogers?"

Ron was also wondering the same thing so I looked at Carlos. Carlos nodded and said, "Your Mr Rogers is actually a man called Henry Paradis. Mr Paradis is involved in what happened to your mother, but it goes back much further than that. We're not at all sure when or if Henry got involved with Paula Escobar, but we have our suspicions that they knew each other long before they met up again in Washington. By that time, Paradis was back to using his own name and Paula was now called Gina. We're still trying to find more connections, but seeing as Rachel must have at least met Henry, we're guessing that's how she got involved."

Ron looked a little stricken. He looked down at Julie, who looked like she wanted to get away from this conversation. He smiled at her and said, "Why don't you and Stephanie go play with the kids? I need to talk with Carlos a little longer."

I walked behind Julie and went to resume the game I was playing with Emma and Diego earlier. Julie said nothing but I could tell that her mind was going a mile a minute. She was quiet once we entered Emma's room and she just watched our game instead of joining in.

Carlos' POV

After Julie left, Ron turned to me and said, "I always thought there was something funny about that Rogers character. Rachel always told me it was in my head. I wonder if she and him were involved, even back then. That would explain a little about how she got pulled into this whole thing."

"I don't know Ron. I have no idea how much Paradis knew about Paula at this time. It is possible that he had no idea about who Rachel was in connection to the whole Escobar mission until years later when he was working for the General. It may just be a coincidence. I am not sure I believe in coincidences, especially where this whole situation is concerned. Every time we answer one question, three or more appear in its place. We now know where Paradis was for his 5 missing years, but we have no idea if he knew Paula or about Rachel's connection to me and Paula at that time."

Ron thought for a moment and said, "He probably knew you were Julie's father. It would have been in her school records. It would have shown that you were the CEO of RangeMan and a little investigation could have shown that you and your men still do some classified government and military missions. If he was indeed in contact with Gina at this time, they may have put two and two together and come up with four."

I thought about what Ron said and then said, "You might be right, but we may never know. If we can't find Paradis, we'll never know. All the players except Paradis are off the board. The General is still in a coma and his prognosis is not good."

Ron grimaced and said, "I'm sure he'll turn up at some point in time. He can't stay hidden forever. As you said, he's the only one left. If he hasn't already accomplished his end game, what else is there? He can't possibly have a personal grudge against you. He never met you and as far as I recall, he was never overly fond of Julie or Diego. He just sort of was there."

I thought about this for a few minutes and then said, "Now that we know where Paradis was all that time, we'll give all the information to the FBI. They can take over from here."

Ron nodded and we walked into the back of the house looking for Steph and the kids. We found them all piled up on Emma's bed reading a story. Steph was reading and all three kids were listening and laughing whenever she did a new voice. I watched Steph and had to admit that she was great with the kids. I found myself wanting something I never thought I would. I wanted another child or three with Stephanie. I know we've already talked about kids in an abstract way. We both said 'down the road' or 'maybe' when we discussed our future. I now know that it's definitely something I want.

When Steph closes the book a few minutes later after finishing the story, both Emma and Diego beg her to read another. She looks up at me to see if it's OK and I nod. I walk over and said, "Why don't I read a story with you Babe. We can both do the voices."

Emma immediately jumped up and grabbed a book and siad, "Here Papi Carlos, read this one. You can be the Daddy and Stephie can be the Mommy."

I laughed and took the book from Emma. I squeezed myself on the bed and held out the book for all to see. Steph started reading the story. She changed her voice when the Mommy talked. When it was time for the Daddy, I used a deep voice. All three kids laughed and smiled as we read to them. At one point, I looked up to see Ron watching us. He had a smile on his face, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

When we were finished that book, Steph promised them one last story and I went over to Ron. I looked at him and asked, "Are you OK Ron? You had a funny look on your face while we were reading."

Ron looked away from the kids and at me before he said, "I was just thinking about how much the kids will miss by not having their mother around. You have no idea how much I appreciate the time that you and Stephanie spend with my kids."

I thought about Ron's words and then realised something. I loved those kids. It didn't matter that they were not all mine. I loved them as if they were. "Ron, Stephanie and I love your kids. Not just Julie, all of them. They are wonderful children and we will do everything in our power to ensure that they are happy and healthy. I can't even begin to fathom what you are going through right now. I can't imagine how you feel about Rachel's death, but know this, your kids are loved by a lot of people. You have friends here who will help you in any way you need. Even Steph's family like your kids, and that's saying something."

Ron had tears in his eyes and he struggled to maintain his composure. After a few minutes of blinking and nodding he said, "Thanks Carlos. I think living in close proximity to you and Stephanie is good for the kids. I would like to take you up on your offer to build a second house on your land. I have been thinking a lot about what I want to do once the RangeMan buildings are finalised.

"I think I'd like to start my own business as an architect that does work for small businesses and private homes. My house will be a guinea pig of sorts for a few ideas I've had with regards to building energy efficient homes."

"That sounds great Ron. I was also thinking about incorporating a small turbine and some solar panels into our house. Underfloor heating was also something I have looked into. Perhaps we can arrange a time to sit down and discuss house plans in the near future. I'm sure Stephanie would love to spend some more time with the kids, but she would also want to be involved with the house plans. She has to live there to, and if I get my way, we'll need space for a brood of kids."

Ron grinned and said, "How many is a brood again?"

This caused me to laugh and I said, "As many as Steph can handle. I never thought I'd want any more kids, but seeing how good she is with yours, I want more. At least two more, but if Steph is willing, even more."

"And what exactly do I need to be willing to do Carlos?"

I turned around to find Stephanie staring at me with her arms crossed. She was trying to feign being upset but I saw through her glare to the humour in her eyes. I smiled at her and siad, "I was just telling Ron that you would want to be involved in the house plans because you had to live there. I then went on to tell him that we needed lots of rooms for all of the kids."

I guess that satisfied her curiosity because she just nodded and walked past us into the kitchen. The kids were already in there getting drinks before bed. Ron and I followed and listened to the kids chatter with Stephanie about their planned activities for the next few days. The younger two were taking swimming lessons while Julie was taking ballet and dance lessons. It turns out that Julie is quite good at ballet and quite enjoys her time in her tap shoes.

All three kids are playing baseball in different leagues. Their schedules will keep both Ella and Luis quite busy during tournament weekends, but the kids can't sit around at home all day, especially when Ron has to work.

Before we left, we made arrangements with Ron to talk about the house plans and RangeMan building a few days later. They would come to our house and while we talked, the kids could play in the back yard in full view of the kitchen table. We even talked about inviting Val's kids to join them. We hugged, kissed and shook hands and then headed home. I think we were both exhausted, so we climbed into bed and fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow.

Steph's POV

I woke up to an empty bed. This isn't an unusual occurance, nor was I surprised. Carlos was always up earlier than me. What did surprise me was the tone of voice I could hear from downstairs. Whoever Carlos was talking to, he was not pleased with them. I crawled out of bed and went to investigate.

I found Carlos in the kitchen talking on his phone. He acknowledges my presence with a wave of his hand so I continued to listen to a one-sided conversation that didn't sound to be to Carlos' liking.

"What do you mean? How can you deny this information?"

Carlos listened for a few more minutes and then said, "You are being short sighted. We have proof that there was a link between Paula Escobar and Paradis before she even left Columbia."

More silence.

"What more do you need?"

Silence.

"You're the FBI. We provided you with information. I expect you to use that information and find Paradis."

Carlos growled and then said, "I want a contract. If I put my men and my company in danger to go after this man, I want to be compensated. Fax the paperwork to the usual number. We will not begin until I see that fax."

With that statement, Carlos hung up and sank into the chair that he was pacing beside. He looked up at me and reached out his hand. I walked over and took his hand and he pulled down onto the sofa beside him and hugged me to him.

"The FBI doesn't think our information about Paradis is valid. They didn't find anything in their searches so they refuse to acknowledge what we discovered. Agent Saunders said that the confirmation from Ron and Julie is probably down to grief and a desire to find the person responsible for Rachel's death. He won't consider using that information.

"He also said that Paradis is no longer a priority for them as everyone else involved is safe or dead. He no longer thinks that Paradis is a threat and they are moving on to more pressing cases."

I frowned and said, "That's ridiculous Carlos. He killed three FBI agents. How can they just let that be? Aren't they supposed to turn over every leaf when a member of law enforcement gets killed?"

Carlos just shook his head and said, "They've passed the investigation over to us. They are faxing us the paperwork later this morning. I guess they have more faith in our detective skills than their own at this point. It's also quite a bit of money. I'm going to ask Lula and Brett to make this a priority. It's a good thing that we have no appointments today, or we'd have to reschedule them. I want to go to the office and brief the guys."

I nodded and said, "I'll help out too, where I can."

Carlos smiled at me and said, "I knew I could count on you. Between your spidey sense, Lula's fishy factor and Brett's ever reaching connections in law enforcement around the world, you three will undoubtedly be able to find Paradis."

I frowned a little and then asked, "What kind of contacts does Brett have? Is he a spy or something?"

Carlos laughed and said, "No, nothing like that. His father was in the British Foreign Service. He was a diplomat who lived all around the world. Brett has 6 older siblings, all of whom were born all over the world. Brett and his younger sister Christine were both born here in the US. They are quite a bit younger than their other siblings, so when their parents moved back to England for retirement, Brett and Christine decided to stay here, where they grew up. His other siblings live in various places around the world.

"For instance, his eldest brother is a General in the British Army. He works for MI6. His eldest sister is a high ranking official at Scotland Yard. He has a brother who works for Interpol, another brother works for the Hong Kong police and another sister lives in Australia and is the police commissioner in one of the major cities there. Brett's other two brothers were killed in Afghanistan the first time around."

I looked at Ranger and was shocked. It was hard to believe a family could be so spread out. Brett never talked about any of his family, with the exception of his little sister. Now that I know his other siblings are a lot older that makes sense. After a quick shower, Carlos and I ate a hurried breakfast and made it to the office by 09:00.

Carlos called a meeting and every RangeMan employee who wasn't on patrol or monitor duty was present, even those who were not scheduled to work this morning. Carlos called the meeting to order and said, "The FBI has passed the Paradis investigation to RangeMan. We will not drop the ball on this investigation like the authorities have. I will be placing Lula and Brett in charge of this investigation. They will have full authority to assign work to any of the men, assuming that you are not on an active call. This is our top priority."

Everyone looked around the table at each other. Lester finally piped up and asked, "Why isn't the FBI handling this?"

Ranger shook his head and said, "They've hit a dead end. They have no leads and they've got other priorities at the moment. I just think they've run out of ideas and they're hoping our resources and luck can help. Either way, we're going to work on this and do what we can. The fact that they can't find him is good for us. They're paying us a lot of money for something that they think is a dead end. We only get paid if we succeed, so they're hedging their bets that we fail."

Ranger let the guys talk amongst themselves for a few minutes before asking, "Lula, Brett, do you have any ideas where to start?"

Lula looked at Brett and said, "I think we should send a couple of guys from the RangeMan Miami office to talk to the principal of that school He might be able to tell you something about Paradis. We should also find out where he was living in both Miami and DC. He may have other properties that we don't know about. He has to be hiding somewhere."

Brett nodded and added, "We will also run a security check on Paradis' alias, his family, and anyone else who comes up in the course of our investigation. He's probably had help and we'll find out from whom."

Carlos nodded and said, "Stephanie is also available for this investigation. We'll spend as much time as possible in the office so she is available between client meetings. If necessary, we'll postpone a few customer meetings. I'm sure they'll understand if we explain that we're investigating the person responsible for our troubles.

"I'd like all of the core team to stick around for a few minutes." He looked at me and nodded towards the door, indicating that he needed me to leave as well. I kissed him on the cheek and followed the rest out of the room.

Ranger's POV

After dismissing the meeting, those of us left behind sat at the front of the table. I looked at the guys and said, "I think we need to promote a couple of the guys so they can offer some relief on weekends and evenings. I'm in a position where I can't always be on call, and I'm sure each of us four a life outside of RangeMan now that we're older and have more in our lives than just work."

Bobby looked at me like I'd lost my mind, but his face spread in a huge grin. He asked, "Can I also hire a back-up medic? I'm on call 24-7 and it would be nice to be able to take a long weekend every once and a while."

I smiled at Bobby and said, "I think that's a great idea. Start looking straight away. Whoever you select can help you draw up the plans of the hospital wing in the new RangeMan building. We start construction within the month, but you probably have a bit of time after that to decide on the exact layout and fittings."

Bobby grinned and then Les said, "I would like to have the weekends off too. I think promoting a few of the guys is a great idea. I can even make a few recommendations."

Tank nodded and said, "Me too. Let's each write 4 names on a piece of a paper and then we can compare the lists and discuss what happens next."

I took the notepad in front of me ripped off four pieces and then handed them out. When we were done, I gathered the lists and laughed. I looked up at my friends and said, "We've all listed the same 4 names. If we're all in agreement, we can call them in now and discuss our plans."

Bobby, Tank and Lester nodded so I stuck my head out the door and looked around. I could see Stephanie down the hall and asked, "Babe, could you come here for a moment?"

Stephanie walked closer and went to fetch the men. A few moments later, Hal, Cal, Woody and Junior came into the room looking a little apprehensive. They sat down and I started talking. "Gentlemen, you've been asked here because the core team and I are in agreement that you men are due a bit of a promotion. The four of us want to have a life outside of work, but in order to do that, we need more men who can make the tough calls so we don't have to. We think the four of you can be those men, if you want to that is."

Woody nodded and asked, "I'd like to, but I'm not sure I want to be on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week either."

I shook my head and said, "No, I don't expect you'd want that. With the 8 of us, we should be able to make a reasonable enough schedule so nobody has to work too much overtime. Also, when I'm in charge, I always have a second-in-command. I want each of you to nominate a man who will serve in that capacity when you are in charge. Write your name down and give it to me."

Hal looked a little scared, but he powered through and asked, "What if more than one of us nominate the same person? Who will get to work with that person?"

"I'm sure you can share. If it turns out that there are only 2 men in this entire company whom you all feel can do that particular job, then each of you will take turns in that role. We need 2 men on call at all times. One who is in charge and another who can take over as need be. We always need someone to watch our backs."

All four men and wrote down a name on their paper and passed them to me. I read them and passed the papers to the other members of my core team. I looked at the men and said, "You have all chosen a different person and we agree with all of your choices. I turned to Cal and said, "Since you are nearest the door, can you please go and bring in Ram, Manny and Zero?"

Hal frowned and was about to ask why his choice wasn't accepted but I stopped him. "The other choice is currently unavailable. Hal selected Brett, and I agree that he'd make a good second-in-command for you. Unfortunately, he is currently in charge of the Paradis investigation. I will talk to him about his promotion later. Because of this, Hal will work as Tank's second-in-command until Brett is available. Does everyone agree with this?"

All heads nodded and then Lester asked, "Does this mean that the core team has just inflated to 12 men?"

I thought for a moment and said, "Yes, I think so. The four original core team members will be known as the senior core team. The core team will now consist of the 12 of us plus Hector. If we branch out into other areas in the future, we'll add additional members for those branches."

I looked around the room at the eager faces in front of me. These men would help to ensure that none of us would be overworked or spend too much time working. I know my changed status meant that I didn't want to work every hour of every day. Both Tank and Lester were in new relationships and if Bobby has his way, so will he shortly.

I explained the whole second-in-command concept to the three newest arrivals. We briefly discussed additional responsibilities. Cal would take over all employees physical testing from Tank. Woody is now responsible for all local tactical requirements such as high-bond skip tracing and distractions, freeing me up for more client meetings. Junior would take over all gun-related training oversight from Lester and Hal would take a more active role in the technological side of the business.

Cal and Manny were willing to work nights and weekends. Woody and Zero were still on rounds for protection duty with the Martines, so until that ended, they would stick to their regular office duties. Woody and Ram were going to come up with their ideal gun range for the new RangeMan building and take turns with Cal and Manny so the four senior core members could have evenings and weekends off on a regular basis.

When the meeting ended, everyone seemed happy with the decisions. When the senior core was left alone in the room, Tank looked at me and said, "I never thought I'd see the day where you actually scheduled free time. I wanted to talk to you about the possibility, but it turns out that you already had similar ideas yourself. I can't wait to have a weekend free."

Lester and Bobby agreed, and we all were joking and laughing as we left the meeting room.

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