Chapter 2 Ranger's Story
When everyone was in place I braced myself for the inevitable drop, and freed my rope. I ran down the building and when I was almost level with her jumped out to grab her. I was only inches from her, but at that second, she was released and began to fall.
Already in the air, I pushed off the post she had been strung up on and went flying down the building to catch her. Hal, Cal and Tank stood braced below us ready to stop her fall. She was falling feet first with high heels on and no matter how big you are, that was going to hurt. Determinedly I flew down, caught up to her and in a nanosecond grabbed her with both hands, pulled her to me, wrapped my right arm around her and clutched her to my body.
The same instant I had her, my left hand shot out, snagged the freefalling rope and gripped it firmly. The rope jerked tight and forcefully whipped us around to face the sky, like a yo-yo hitting the end of it's string. Her body was pressed hard against mine as we swung back towards the building. My right arm was around her like a vise holding her tightly to my chest as we bounced off the building while we continued to slowly slide down it.
I grabbed the rope tighter, the friction burning through my glove, bringing us to a stop. I planted my feet firmly against the building as we hung there. I quickly locked my rope into place and wrapped both arms around her. Her back was to me. "I have you, I have you now." I whispered my breath tight in my throat, my chest heaving as I struggled to calm myself.
Lester and Woody were already descending to us with the litter. With both arms I turned her around, laid her against my body and looked into her battered face. She looked back with bright blue eyes, one purple and almost swollen shut, staring deeply at me. She looked clear eyed, and battered, but not all that drugged, hurt or afraid.
I had been scared of what I might see when I looked at her again. Expecting blame and recrimination because her being taken was all my fault. This time I hadn't had any advance warning, there was no chatter on the street, no notices from foreign nationals, no guidance from government contacts, no signs from overseas sources, no warnings that something was coming, no whispers in the wind, nothing; regardless, I hadn't protected her. I reached out and gently removed the duck-tape from her mouth.
"Babe." It was all I could say, relief sweeping through me.
"I knew you would save me, but you took your sweet time. I've been hanging up there for hours. My whole body has gone numb, but I'm glad to see you." She smiled at me. Sweet, sassy, tired. I could see all of that in her face, but she didn't look especially abused. Maybe the drugs kept her from being aware or from knowing it was real. Maybe she thinks it was all a dream.
"Babe I've only known where you were for about fifteen minutes. Your kidnappers took their time notifying me. Now that I have you, we have to get you up to the roof of this building. Lester has an air gurney, we are going to strap you to it and haul you up."
"Can't you just carry me up?" The 'I want to stay with you' was obvious in her face.
"Babe I'll stay right here by your side. I can't hold onto you and ascend, but I will stay with you. I promise I will be right here." I lifted my head and pressed it against her forehead. Whatever I needed to do to make her whole again, I would do. I would do anything for her, to protect her, to never let her go now that I have her back, alive in my arms. Why did I ever think that cop could protect her? He probably won't even want her after tonight. He's looking for a wife and mother for his children. Not a drugged up, woman who has been raped and tortured.
The cops had arrived with the ambulance, I could see their flashing lights reflecting against the buildings. I knew with her injuries, she needed to go to the hospital. She probably needed surgery. But what happened to her would get out and the gossip would hurt her as much if not more than the events of tonight. I didn't know how to stop it from happening. In the Burg every tragedy was fuel, and anything having to do with Stephanie was highly sought-after fodder. Stephanie gossip was more sought after than the six o'clock news.
I quickly decided that I would go to the hospital and try to keep as much as I can from getting out. I will talk to the nurses, Doctors, and cops personally. I will do everything I can to keep this tragedy from ruining her life. Lester was hanging next to me with the litter. He pressed it right up against my horizontal body.
"Here you go babe. No fear, I will be right here." I swung her over into the litter. Lester and I quickly strapped her in.
"Hey Beautiful. Spent the night hanging around in the dark? You know you're not a bat, right?" Lester got a smile out of her, her second in just a few minutes. If she can still smile after tonight I know she will eventually be alright. We signaled to get Bobby and Junior to pull her up. Tank should be headed to the roof, to help pull her up as well. Hal and Cal would stay below until everyone made it to the roof.
Smoothly the litter began to rise and I stayed right with it, actually getting a little ahead of it so I could look down at her and she could look up and see me. I climbed over the edge of the roof at the same time they were pulling her over. I disengaged myself from my rope and harness and knelt by her side. We undid the straps holding her to the litter and I took out my knife and cut away the ropes holding her in the blanket she was encased in.
She was wrapped up tight, and I unwrapped her like a Nightmare Christmas present from Jack, but not seeing any blood on the outside, 'maybe they bandaged her up' flitted through my mind. I lifted the left side of the camisole she wore, so I could check out her stab wound, but all I found was her sweet creamy pink skin, no big gaping hole. I quickly, thoroughly checked her out. Raking my hand all the way down her side, no stab wound anywhere on her. I turned her on her right side, away from me, and lifted her camisole, no belt marks down her back. I pulled out her sweats so I could look down them, but there were no carved initials on her backside. I was shocked for a millisecond, even as relief flooded through me. I know what I saw and they had done all those things to someone with shoulder-length curly brown hair.
"Excuse me, what are you doing? Cut me loose." Stephanie demanded holding out her hands. I laid her on her back and cut away the ropes on her hands while Junior cut her feet free. I wrapped my arms around her clutching her to me. This was it, I had her in my arms and I was never going to let her go. Never let this ever happen to her again. Then I saw it, underneath her, a folded-up piece of white computer paper.
I laid her back down for Bobby to check her out, opened the letter and read the Turkish scrawl. 'You saved us from more torture and certain death. I could not repay you by permanently damaging your woman; even if you let her sleep in another man's bed. Sorry about her face but she needs to be seen as damaged. Our instructions were clear, we were to get her, beat her, rape, mutilate and leave her with a life-threatening wound. Make it impossible for you to save her and record it all to send back to Sergio. Then we are to repeat it with all your women. We have pictures and a list of names and addresses. This is your one warning, hide your women for the next two weeks because we search for them. At that time, we will have to move on to complete our other assignments. Now say a prayer for the surrogate that stood in for your woman tonight, we could not take her to a hospital and she did not survive her wounds. There will be no surrogate next time, next time it will be just your women. One or several at a time. It will depend on how lucky these guys get and how well you can hide them.' I folded up the piece of paper.
Stephanie was just sitting up staring at me, as Bobby examined her face. "Check her for residual effects from drugs. I know they drugged her at least twice." I volunteered. When he was done, I gathered her up in my arms swearing to never let her go again.
"What was on the paper? Was that from my kidnappers? Can I read it?" She peppered me with questions.
"Babe, It's not in English." I looked at her seriously as I handed her the piece of paper, "It was a warning to hide my other women or they will take them and do something similar or worse to them." She looked at the paper. She glared at me taken aback as she handed it back to me.
"What other women?" I could see shock and betrayal in her beautiful face. I quickly folded up the paper and stuck it in the side pocket of my cargo's.
"Julie, my mother, sisters, even my grandmothers." I pulled her up to her unsteady feet. Now knowing she was only bruised and battered I was ready to get her down, checked out by the paramedics, and talk to the police.
"They are going after your whole family?" She questioned me.
"Yes, these men brutally lost their families, and whole village."
"You took out their village?"
"No, not me or my men, the story is long and complicated. Let's get off this roof and I will tell you what I can." She staggered on her five-inch red heel's and I gripped her tightly around the waist.
"I'm not very steady. I think half of me is still numb."
Hating to bring it up because her eyes didn't look drugged out, but I didn't know how long ago she had been given the heroin. "Babe have you gone through withdrawals from the drugs they gave you?"
"Kinda, but then they gave me something else that put me to sleep. When I woke up I was hanging up here. So, I don't remember most of it. But my head is pounding, my mouth is dry and tastes funny, my eyes feel like sand paper and I'm extremely thirsty." She quietly said.
"Do you want something for the pain?"
"Bobby already offered me something, but I don't want to take anything yet. I just want to sleep and see if I feel better in the morning."
"Ok, let's get you down off this roof." I swept her up in my arms and carried her down all ten flights of stairs; holding her close with her arms wrapped around my neck. I left the men to wrap up and bring down all the equipment, except for Junior who was rushing ahead of me to open doors as we went. Finally, we made it outside and I carried her over to the ambulance, even as police officers came to talk to us.
While Stephanie was getting checked out by the paramedics I called the Miami office and had men assigned to my family there. She steadfastly refused to go to the hospital, despite the persuading and pleading that came from me and the paramedics. Her nose wasn't broken, the paramedics said. Icepacks and bruise cream would be the best the hospital could do anyway.
The police took her report, but she was drugged almost the entire time and couldn't give any better descriptions of the men than they could get from the video, so I cut them short on that line of questioning. I got the file folder of pictures from Zip, the copy of the video from the Cayenne and turned them over to the police.
We asked about Joe, and found out he was taken to St. Frances with a broken left arm, some bruised ribs and a possible concussion from the fall. He had bruises all over but didn't have any life-threatening injuries. I was glad for Stephanie's sake that he would live, but it would make convincing her to stay with me that much harder as she would want to go mother him.
I wouldn't leave Stephanie now but I had to get my family out of harm's way immediately and I knew my mother and sisters would be a problem. As soon as my men were loaded up, I sent them to Newark to protect my family. Tank and Junior on my mama, Hal and Cal on my oldest sister Leyla, Lester and Woody on my younger sister Isabella, Bobby and Zip on my older sister Angelia who lives an hour and a half away in Kentwood. From the office, I sent Chet and Hank for my youngest sister Oshanna, who now lives in New York.
It was 0420. I took Stephanie back to her apartment to get showered and changed. I didn't even ask; I just packed her a small overnight bag, prepared two small bags of ice wrapped in paper towels and laid out clothes on her bed. When she wanted to go to sleep I put Keds on her feet, handed her the ice packs and told her she could sleep all day at Haywood but I wasn't leaving her alone until the threat was over.
She argued that if they were going to kill her they would have already done it, and I picked up her bag in one hand and swept her into my arms, carrying her to the door. Dios she smelled so good fresh out of the shower like citrus strawberry smash. She kicked out with both legs and hit me in the chest with her fist full of ice and I sat her down on her feet. As much as I didn't want to I had to tell her about the video they sent me. (God)
"Stephanie, I knew where you were tonight because those bastards sent me a video of their night's activities with you. From the kidnapping at Joe's to hanging you off the building they recorded everything. After they drugged you and videoed them hitting you, they showed a woman with curly brown hair in a red dress, tied up. A woman they beat savagely, they raped her, they mutilated her, then they stabbed her, she didn't survive her wounds." I looked into her eyes and shook her slightly, from the shoulders to make sure I had her attention and she knew I was serious.
"Stephanie, the woman in the video looks like you. It makes it look like it was you they did all these things to and if they get ahold of you again that nightmare will become a reality. That's not something I'm willing to chance. Right now, you can come and sleep safely at Haywood. I'm not going to lock you up there but for today, PLEASE, come stay at Haywood and sleep until I can get my family squared away." She finally nodded at me and I took her hand, locked up her apartment and led her to the elevator.
On the way to Haywood I explained what I could of Mukhtar's story, leaving out places, time frames and mission objectives. Only telling her that on an unrelated mission we found him and his men being held hostage and tortured. That we spent four days, while we were carrying out our mission, sharing our water, our MRE's, what other food we could find, giving them basic medical care, nursing them back to some semblance of health. Then set them free to go back to their village, but when they got to their village it had been burned, half their women and children murdered and the other half attacked and abused. That he was here in the States to get the men who destroyed his village. That to get a visa he had agreed to help one of my enemies get back at me, but instead of hurting her, he got another woman to take her place in the video that was sent. I explained that he had saved her from the fate of the anonymous woman in the red dress.
"They still tied me up, drugged and hit me. Then they duck taped me to the towel rack in the bathroom and left me in there forever with no lights on." She crossed her arms over her chest as she complained.
"I'm sorry Babe," even though I wasn't. I was so pleased that was all that happened to her. "We will keep you safe until this threat is taken care of."
"You can't lock me away on seven." She insisted.
"No locking you away. I promise." I didn't tell her she was going to have a two-man team assigned to her till these thugs were taken off the street.
As soon as Stephanie was settled in my big bed, me standing there wishing I could crawl in and hold her, I looked at my watch. It was 05:00, I decided to go down to the gym. I did my best thinking when my body was active. My mother wouldn't be up yet and it was going to be a stressful enough day without her losing sleep.
This wasn't the first time my family has been threatened, but every other time I took out the threat before it could get to them. This time I didn't have any clue to the whereabouts of these men and the threat level was too high to sit back and wait while I tried to find them.
I thought about the problem as I got onto the treadmill. I put all my emotions about Stephanie being kidnapped and hurt out of my head and let my mind focus on solving the problem of protecting my family while I searched for these men, as I put my body through its paces. Halfway through my workout I couldn't take it anymore the building anger and frustration was overtaking me. I slipped on some gloves and took my infuriation out on one of the big 150lb wavemaster pads as I pictured the faces of the nameless men who kidnapped Stephanie and all the things they did to that woman and how I felt when I thought it was Stephanie.
About 0600 some of the day crew started trickling in, including Ram and Vince. They saw my need for release. Everyone in the building had heard what went down last night and offered to spar two against me in the ring. Knowing full well that Tank, the only man who could hold his own against me, was out on assignment and the bag was less than satisfying in my overly agitated state.
"Ask Hank or Erik too, see if we can make it three or four against one." I told them and five minutes later all four of them came at me at once. Honestly this is how my men like to fight me, because standing in the middle of the ring with one man on each side is the only way they ever get a good hit in on me. I have kicked each of their asses enough that each one would love to get in a few blows before I take them down, and they know four on one I will still take each one down.
Forty minutes later the show was over. The ten more men that had shown up to, at first watch and then jump in the ring, were now limping and walking away shaking their heads in astonishment. I had taken them down or thrown them out as more men volunteered to join the "try to hit the boss" free-for-all. Having six in there going after me at once and I can't say I wasn't thrown or knocked down at all, but when it was done I wasn't the one that needed the infirmary.
Before I went upstairs I stopped in my office to make the calls I had been dreading. I sat apprehensively in my black leather chair, staring at my computer screen that still showed Stephanie's trackers at Morelli's. I debated calling from my office phone but decided my cell phone was a better idea because it would show my name.
"Hello."
"Mom, I am having an emergency. All the women in the family are in danger. Stephanie was kidnapped last night and hurt. We found her before she was killed but the same men have promised to kidnap, hurt and kill every woman in my family. Including you, all my sisters, Julie and even Abuelas Rosa and Sanja. I need to get everyone to safe houses immediately. My men are already outside your door. The threat is for the next two weeks so pack a bag-" (Grandmas)
"Me'jo, if you think your sisters and I are just going to be rounded up like cattle and locked away without a fight you are loco. I have work, Leyla, Isabella and Oshanna all work. The kids have school. Maybe the girls can come over this Saturday and-" I sat back in my chair frustrated. (My son, crazy)
"Mama This is a LIFE or DEATH EMERGENCY!" I said respectably but forcefully. "I'm coming over right now, this morning! Tell Papa to stay home. Call my sisters, tell them to all come to your house immediately for the day. That it is a familia emergencia and they need to take the day off work, bring all the kids and if they can their husbands." (family emergency)
"Mi'jo, it's Wednesday, everyone has work-"
"Mama," I cut her off practically yelling into the phone, sitting forward, my back ramrod straight, holding the phone to my mouth, "this is really LIFE or DEATH! I am very serious I just barely saved Stephanie and if they get their hands on anyone else in my family they are going to TORTURE and KILL them! No one can go to work today! Right now, there are bad guys stalking them. Please mama, I only have a small window to save everyone. I need you and abuela to stay home and all my sisters to come to your house today so we can protect everyone. Stephanie was forcibly kidnapped out of her bed last night, drugged, beaten and almost killed. That and worse will happen to every woman in my family because of me. Call all my sisters, have them all call off work and come to your house. I am on my way. This is serious mama. Life and death serious. Can you do this for me por favor?" I compelled her." (please)
"Ok, Carlos, I see you are really worked up over this." I heard silence as she debated what I'd said and her taking a deep breath. "Fine, I'll tell your papa and call your sisters."
"Gracias mama. Ahora, I still have to call Rachel about Julie. I'll see you in about an hour and a half." I hung up the phone and wiped my hand down over my face. I could see my mother, a 5' 3", brown haired, brown eyed dynamo standing in her kitchen holding the phone getting ready to call my sisters. A nurse for 35 years, even with her short stature she was a force to be reckoned with and while my sisters would just argue with me they will listen to mama. (Thank you, Now)
I know the women in my family are just as stubborn as Stephanie. Maybe that is why I am so attracted to her, she is very much like my family, maybe I can hide them all together. Maybe I can send them somewhere. I don't currently have enough safe houses close together for the whole family as much as my sisters love each other, putting them in the same safe houses for two weeks would be akin to starting world war three. Put them far apart and they will drive me crazy wanting to go out and do stuff not to mention see each other. Three of them have kids who are active and won't take to being locked away. I make the call to pull men from Atlanta and Boston to cover Rangeman here.
Maybe we can just all go away, take everybody on a trip somewhere. Where would my sisters, their kids and my mama like to go? Disney World? Too Public, Las Vegas? Too noisy, New York? Too crowded. Some quiet resort somewhere? If everyone has a passport we could go out of country to the Bahama's or someplace. There is always Hawaii. Hawaii was nice with Stephanie. Of course, it would be a whole different trip with my family.
I had already called the Miami office and had a four-man team put on Julie, my 12-year-old daughter that lives with her mother and step-dad. She is smart, vivacious and has curious brown eyes and long dark hair like mine. She was the surprise after a one-night encounter with Rachel when I was on leave. Both being Catholic I did the right thing and married her before Julie was born. Julie was born right on time but I was on a mission that was delayed and I made it back to hold her at two days old and nothing in my life could have prepared me for that moment.
I was forever changed, looking into her fascinating, intelligent deep brown eyes, holding such an innocent thing. Feeling her squirm in my arms, sigh a little sigh and then burp a huge burp. I almost wanted to put her away from me, as tarnished as I am with all the things I have done. While in the next breath, hold her close, never to let her go. Her sweetness and innocence wanting to make me a better man. A man who would always be there for her, take care of her, protect her from the evil in this world.
A man who was worthy to have such an innocent miracle in his life. It spurred me on to be a better man, one she could be proud of. But I could never be the father she needed, so I let Ron her step-dad adopt her when she was just two, so that she could have a father and family in her daily life as she deserved. Now She has a brother and sister to complain about and is busy in 7th grade, being a happy well-adjusted 12-year-old preteen.
I have always kept paying child support for her even though I didn't have to, because in my heart she will always be my baby, my child, my responsibility. Then her perfect world came crashing down, two-years ago when she was abducted by a crazy man, Scrog, who stole my name, pretended to be me and collect the women in my life including Stephanie. It was the most frightening thing to live through knowing some lunatic who had already killed once had them both and I couldn't find them. It was the most natural thing in the world to walk into Stephanie's apartment where he held them hostage and sacrifice myself, my life to save theirs. I would do anything for them.
It is my greatest nightmare that these monsters would get a hold of these two, my most precious angels. Stephanie's my woman, I would do anything to save her, but Julie is my baby girl, and I will tear these monster's limb from limb for even threatening to do these unspeakable things to her. I would kill for Stephanie and I have, but I would burn the world down and remake it to save my Jewel, my baby girl. They signed their death warrants the minute they threatened to do such repulsive and unthinkable things to her. I closed my eyes briefly as I took a deep re-centering breath.
I had also put a two-man team on Abuela Sanja, the grandma I lived with when I was a teenager going to high school in Miami. I needed to make Rachel aware of what was going on and even if they didn't include her in the threat I was adding her to my list of women to be protected.
Mukhtar really seemed like he didn't want to hurt me or mine, but his strings are being pulled by Sergio, an oil, emerald, uranium and cocaine magnate, who was now worth billions. Sergio wants me to suffer, he wants me to pay in blood for the land and millions he lost, when we stopped his hostile plan to drive out local farmers, raze their village, and kill their livestock. All of this in the name of progress when what he really wanted was the uranium rich land they lived on. He planned to sell it to countries who were banned from having it or closely monitored in the amount of uranium they imported because they wanted to illegally turn it into Plutonium-239 and make nuclear weapons to use against the US and her allies.
Thinking about the video, I didn't recognize any of the men with Mukhtar as men from his village that we rescued, they could all just be mercenaries hired by Sergio. I know these men will be under pressure to complete their mission and will do it to the best of their ability, but if they are mercenaries maybe they can be bought off. I finally picked up my phone and dialed.
"Hello"
"Rachel, Good Morning. I hate to call so early but I have something really urgent going on. I need you to keep Julie home from school today and stay home with her. There has been a threat made to all the women in my family including Julie. I have men outside your house right now and will keep them on you and Julie until the threat is taken care of. But today I really need you to just stay inside while we get it under control."
"What kind of threat?"
"There are some men here send from overseas to get to me by hurting the women in my life. Julie was named specifically, you were not but I'm not taking any chances with any woman who is a known part of my life, including you."
"What should we do? I have to take the kids to school and even if I keep Julie home there is no way I can keep her in the house all day. She is very active and going to have to get outside. Plus, today I have to run errands and we have no food in the house. Normally I would have gone shopping on Monday but the car had to go into the shop and I really need to go to the grocery store."
"The men outside have two SUV's. You can load all the kids in one and take Freddy and Cassie to school today and they can take you shopping for groceries. All other errands will have to wait a few days. They will escort you through the store and back out again. I know it will be uncomfortable to be escorted down every isle but it is for your and Julie's safety. Can you do this for me today?"
"Is this going to be another Scrog incident?"
"I don't want to scare you but this seems to be a bit worse than Scrog. Stephanie was kidnapped and hurt last night. I managed to get Stephanie back in one piece but they are threatening to do worse to anyone else they find and Julie was on their list."
"Mio Dios! ¿Qué nos has traído?" (My god! What have you brought on us?)
"Rachel this is not good, but we have forwarning and a time frame. They specifically told me two weeks so this is not endless. We just need to keep everyone safe in the mean time."
"Ok, I'm going to keep all the kids home today and I have some frozen meat in the deep freezer for tonight. But we can't put our life on hold for two weeks. You can't ask us to live like that."
"I understand and I'm working on it. If we can find them first we can get this over with sooner. I just need to keep everyone safe until then."
"Ranger, you need to get this handled. We can't keep living in fear everyday that something bad is going to happen."
"I'm taking care of it Rachel. No matter what I'm going to keep you safe. Just stay home with her today and I will deal with this situation."
"Ok, but we want to hear back from you what's going on. We can't stand to be kept in the dark like we were with Scrog." I know she didn't get updates as soon as the FBI and I had them with Scrog because everything seem to just upset her more. If she gets worked up over every little thing like she did with Scrog I knew I could never tell her everything but I had to tell her something.
"I will try to give you an update everyday but I can't promise anything."
I hung up with her and began to prepare myself to face my family. I wondered momentarily about taking Stephanie with me so they could hear first hand what they did to her but really, this was not the best situation to have her meet my family. I called Ella on six, "Breakfast for one. Stephanie's here for a while. Prepare to cook for her for a few weeks. I need to butter her up and keep her happy so donuts with breakfast and dessert with dinner would really help me."
"Of course." She answered.
I showered and dressed for a day of combat. Ella was already in the dining room with breakfast.
"Ella, mi tia, I need you to stay in the building today. If you need to leave take a man with you." (my aunt)
"Why sobrino? You bring trouble again?" (nephew)
"Yes, but they aren't targeting me. They are targeting all the women in mi familia. You have not been named specifically. But I am putting everyone else in safe houses and if they can't get to the women they have originally targeted they may come after you. Because you work for me and are family." (my family)
She laughed heartily. "You're going to lock up Maria and your sisters? You and what army?"
"I know, but I don't know what else to do. They took Stephanie last night and she just barely survived. They are promising to do worse to the rest of my family. Beatings, torture, rape, death. It won't be pretty if they get their hands on any of them."
"Well do what you have to do. You won't be able to live with yourself if anyone besides you gets hurt."
I nodded. Sergio after trying to get at me for years has nailed down my weakness. I can live through hell and already have. My own death does not bother me. But harm my lover, my daughter, my mother and you wound me in ways that cannot heal.
I printed up pictures to take to my mama's house. I was going to have to get very graphic for any of them to take this seriously. I'd rather not show them the video so I was printing up some stills, but just in case, I have edited parts of the video to show them.
I printed up another round of pictures from the DVD that showed each man's face and the hotel room. I knew Mukhtar, but the men with him looked like professional mercenaries. In all the videos they were armed. It must have taken at least two men who knew rappelling gear to bolt up that arm and get Stephanie out on it without collapsing it. Men hired to help Mukhtar accomplish his assignment. I took it all downstairs to the control room.
I gathered, Caesar, Brett, Gino and Victor in a conference room on three. I gave them the pictures and DVD. They were to identify the men immediately, find out what names they used to enter the country, locate the hotel they used and find out where they're hiding. I knew that the events last night: the front door assault, Stephanie's kidnapping, her rescue, and all the men sent out to guard my family would be the talk of the building, but once these men watched that video, word of what was in it would go through the building like wildfire and any man awake would see it or at least hear about it.
I left the building in my Cayenne with two guys following me. This was going to be my hardest negotiation ever. None of them are going to believe they are in danger. None of them are going to want to miss work. None of them are going to want to go into a safe house and disrupt their lives. None of them would want to accept bodyguards. No matter what I do they are all going to be angry with me. I stared at the morning sun as I angled my car eastward, watching the brown smog and clouds build in the sky, as I drove I slipped into my zone, as Stephanie calls it, contemplating the situation.
I'm the little brother that they ordered around and beat up or the big brother that use to boss them around and they ignored so none of them will listen to me now. If I show them the video and pictures they are going to freak out for their safety and the safety of their kids and be pissed off at me for bringing this to their door. What can I entice them with? A vacation that they can't say no to, mostly because I won't give them a choice. I will remove them and their kids by force and keep them in lockdown if I have to. Yeah, because that works so well with Stephanie.
So, I give them a choice between lockdown and a trip somewhere. A private beach? Somewhere everyone doesn't go… mountains somewhere remote: a cabin in Maine, Colorado or Montana, fishing hiking, horseback riding, remote. Easy to control. Easy to guard. I use to have a lockdown plan for my family and had several houses here in Newark with just them in mind. Now it has been so many years and I have always taken out the threats before they could be real. I thought I was past the need for all this, so I finally let the houses go.
Maybe I should have brought Stephanie to talk to them, I thought again. I know she was exhausted and needed to sleep but my family would be better behaved with company around and just seeing her face and hearing what she went through first hand would go a long way in convincing them the danger is real. My phone rang, one glance told me it was the fifth-floor control room. "Talk" I ordered.
"Police report just came over the scanners. A woman in a red dress found dead…" I listened for a few moments and then shook my head. I didn't expect any different news I just thought it would have taken longer for the body to turn up.
When my mother's white with turquoise trim two-story house came into view, there was nowhere to park. I took a moment smelling the fresh dew filled morning and admiring the bushes that were greening up nicely and the bright yellow daffodils, red, pink and purple tulips and another small flowering plant intermingled behind them about a foot tall with deep maroon flowers on it. Junior and Tank were standing on the front porch, in front of the wicker bench and next to the Welcome mat that always stays in front of the door. Hal and Cal were out in one of the SUV's. I knew Lester and Woody would be in the backyard. Chet and Hank were assigned to patrol the neighborhood and I expect Bobby and Zip to be following Angelia.
I walked up to Tank and waited. "Everyone is here except your sister Angelia. They are all upset at you, and Lester won't go near the door because they already took several bites out of him and spat him back out. You are the most unpopular person of the year and aren't going to win any brotherly awards in there." He smirked at me knowing I was walking in to my own funeral.
"Erik and Martin are behind me. Dispatch them to where ever you need them. I want you and Bobby to report back to Haywood. Tell Bobby, Stephanie is sleeping on seven and needs cream for her face. I sparred with a few of the men this morning. He'll need to pass out a few ice packs, bruise cream, and there might be a sprained ankle or wrist. Have him check out Kyle and Gino; besides their pride, no one got seriously injured." I explained and Tank half-smiled at me knowing he's the only man who can even think about standing up to me in the ring.
"Expect ten men flying in from Boston and Atlanta, they will need to be picked up at Newark. I want them working the office. When they are expected to arrive send five new teams over. I want these men to do the pick up from the airport and then report to their racks. They have been up since two this morning and starting tomorrow I need them fresh and well rested."
"I only want Trenton men with Bomber training on my sisters. Leyla and Isabella will be good, but they each have a lot of kids and are inclined to flake out and disappear with one of them. Angelia and Oshanna will probably actively try to duck their security, especially if they are told they can't go to the mall, get a new pedicure, or stop in at Starbucks." I have no illusions that I can keep my family here. I know that at some point they are all going to take off and need protection, at least for today.
"NO ONE leaves in their own car. Absolutely NO ONE! Everyone gets chauffeured from here on out. Two bodyguards apiece while we are in town. I am trying to come up with a place that would house all of them, that would be safe, remote; a cabin in the mountains, an Alaskan cruise, Hell any two-week cruise. I would prefer to get them out of the country but I don't think they all have passports." Tank just looked at me blank faced, knowing there were not any good ideas at this point. I nodded a dismissal to him and stepped up to the front door.
I wiped my boots on the doormat and took a deep fortifying breath. I opened the door and walked in to complete chaos. My mother and two younger sisters, Isabella, and Oshanna, were arguing in the walnut wood cabinet and grey granite counter topped kitchen. My long brown haired, five-foot five, eldest sister Leyla was in the family room watching seven children with her deep brown eyes, trying to keep everyone calm and find a TV show or movie they all would like. My stoic six foot, brown haired, brown eyed father is just sitting at the old green and blue splattered kitchen table drinking coffee and watching the zoo.
"Hermano, What the heck is going on? Why do we need all these guys in black with guns? Why can't I go to work today?" Isabella saw me first and started right in. Now they would attack, pecking me apart like a flock of seagulls. (Brother)
"Once everyone is here I will explain. I want to make sure the kids are distracted because this is going to be a very adult conversation that we don't want to be overheard."
"It's not going down like this. You can't lock us up or send us away just to get rid of some perceived problem. I have a fashion show in two days that I have to be there for. I am showing off two new designs and you can't do this to me." Oshanna, my youngest and tallest sister poked a finger into my chest to emphasize her words. At five-foot nine with bottle rich copper blond hair she was her own force of nature. She was wearing a short sleeve fashionable, pink business suit with white shell top and skirt that came to mid-thigh. She always looked professional and well put together. Long light brown legs that would never need panty hose finished in three-inch pink sandals showing off a French pedicure,
I just stared at her blank faced. "I will talk to everyone at once. Why don't you help Leyla get all the kids settled and then we can talk?" Oshanna gave me a look that said "as if" and headed to the coffeemaker for a refill. While my mother gave me a dirty look as she led the way to the family room.
Isabella, my five-foot six-inch, younger sister approached me next. She was wearing jeans and a light purple t-shirt with comfortable Nikes. Her dark brown hair was cut into a cute face framing bob but her face showed no signs of happiness. "I don't understand why I couldn't go to work today. I'm a nurse, they count on me to be there. There are sick patients that don't get the treatment they need if I'm not there."
"Isabella, I am grateful that you called in and came over to Mama's. I wouldn't do this if it were not truly life threatening." My mother followed Leyla back into the room and they both just stood there watching me. "Now we are just waiting on Angelia. I heard she is on her way does anyone know her ETA?" I asked.
"She was supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago." Mama wearing blue jeans, a bright pink floral shirt and her at-home blue crocks said.
"Mama, would you please call her, make sure everything is alright and find out when she will be here?" I asked knowing I could call the men tailing her, but if there had been any real problems they would have already contacted me so I was guessing this was just one of her stalling tactics.
"I'll call her." Oshanna said as she pulled out her cell phone and made the call. We all awkwardly stood around watching her as she had a quiet conversation.
"Mama, can we go into your bedroom? I need someplace away from the kids to show part of this video." I held up the DVD in my hand. She led me to the living room, pointed to the TV and I looked at her, resignedly. I knew she would guard her and my dad's privacy as fiercely as a rabid pole cat guarding a cave that held her two young cubs.
"Just a minute." I walked to the sliding glass door and stepped outside. "Lester."
"Not on your life. I've already had my hide handed to me. I'm not going in there with your women. These are your women, they are your problem, you get to explain it to them."
"I just need you to sit with the kids. I am going to show the women part of this video that is violent and I don't need one of the kids walking in on that."
"As long as I don't have to speak with Aunt Maria or your sisters."
"You don't even have to be in the same room as them." I explained. "It's just that the kids know you and won't be frightened like if I asked Hal or Cal. I just need someone to keep them all in the family room. They're watching TV, just give me thirty minutes with the adults." He finally nodded and trudged through the yard to come inside.
I left him and headed back to the traditional adult living room, setting up the DVD and getting straight in my head what I would say.
Suddenly the front door banged wide open and I reached for my gun. Knowing that Zip and Junior were on the porch I don't know why I thought I needed a gun, but there stood my older, ever fashionable, 5" 6" tall sister Angelia. She had salon red hair, perfectly sculpted blue tipped nails, Neiman Marcus calf-length tan pleated cullotes, light blue, yellow and tan striped fitted shirt and four-inch light yellow heels. Her oversized Alexander Wang bag on her arm. Late as usual with her two point five children and designer coffee cup in her hand still talking on the phone with Oshanna.
She stood in the doorway talking for another moment while we all stared or glared at her and finally hung up the phone before she ushered her little ones inside.
"All the kids are in the family room." Mama told her leading the way.
"Well I heard Ricky was sick and I can't have Shanna and Kendrick around anyone who might be sick." Angelia said as she took her white, perfectly groomed Bichon Frise out of her bag and set him on the floor.
"We'll give them some extra vitamin C. All the kids are going in the Family room. The conversation we are going to have is for adult ears only." I told her.
"Oooo, sounds sexy and mysterious. Do we get to watch a movie too?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Angelia, this is life and death serious. Not a conversation for a three and five-year-old."
"Oooo sounds depressing. Tell me again why I had to drive an hour up here on my yoga day? I'm missing my class for this and play group this afternoon at the park." I didn't even qualify her with an answer. Angelia is two years older than me and a million times more annoying than any of my other sisters. I squatted down in front of her kids.
"You need to go to the family room; all the kids are in there." I told them pointing with my arm.
"Carlos, don't you know anything about talking to children?" Leyla interrupted, bossy sister that she is. She held out her hands to them. "Shanna, Ricky we just put Shark Tales on in the family room. If you hurry you won't miss much of the movie. I'm even going to make some popcorn and bring it in." They were already moving with her before she got to the popcorn part, but we all know Ricky is a sucker for food and will jump through hoops to get it.
"Angelia, we are meeting in the living room, how about everyone head in there so we can get started." I told her.
I led the way to the living room and waited while Angelia and Oshanna talked to each other and sat on the peach and green floral couch. My mother's living room always smelled like rose potpourri and looked like a picture out of an 80's Home and Garden's magazine. My mother sat next to my father, who was dressed for work in blue jeans, a dark green polo shirt with Manoso Construction Inc. embroidered on it, and tan steel-toed work boots. They sat on the matching loveseat side by side while Isabella sat in the bronze leather recliner.
The room's decorations included glass topped coffee and end tables with white Victorian styled lamps covered with little pink roses sitting on white embroidered doilies. We waited while Leyla, in her blue jeans and green Manoso Construction Polo shirt, made two bags of popcorn. She quickly separated it into five different bowls, collected them all in her arms and strode silently back into the family room in her blue and purple Adidas. You could hear the happy cries as she passed them out to the kids.
"Mama, where is Abuela Rosa?" I asked.
"She was up earlier this morning. But when everyone started arriving and it got too noisy she went to lay down for a bit." She told me.
I just stood there at parade rest in front of my family deciding to tell them only as much as it took to get their cooperation. Leyla finally came in and sat on the end of the couch.
"You all know I was in Special Forces for six years and during that time I did a lot of classified work for the government. All of our work in special forces is need to know, no one knows who does it or what they are doing except the top brass. Well in my second to last year someone in the Special Operations Command got let go unexpectedly and in retribution released a bunch of classified documents regarding Spec Op troops and orders. Three years of my records were leaked, as were many others. In fact, hundreds of special operations that have happened over the last twenty-five years were also released. Secret missions that happened the entire time this person had been working in the SOCOM.
"Not to interrupt but what is a SOCOM? And how did this person have access to all of those electronic files to be able to download them?" Isabella asked.
"SOCOM is Special Operations Command. That person had been in the army for 23 years, they were highly trusted, and had Top-Secret clearance that is why they had access to all of those records. They were found to be copying classified documents that they were not supposed to have, which is why they were let go. They were too late, SOCOM didn't realize how many records this person had copies of already."
"Shouldn't that person be in jail?" Leyla asked.
"The story is that when they were let go, their house and home computer were searched and only a few CONFIDENTIAL records were found so they thought they stopped a problem that had just started. CONFIDENTIAL is the lowest level of classified documents way below Top-Secret. It is defined as information that would "damage" national security if publicly disclosed, without the proper authorization and still has to be handled in a secure way. Technically this person was authorized to see these documents, just not authorized to copy and take them out of SOCOM."
"At first, they were charged but they got a really good attorney. Since they had only copied the Top-Secret material and hadn't removed it, those charges got dropped. They made some excuses about the CONFIDENTIAL materials. That they never remove classified information before and didn't realize they were mishandling anything. The charges for having the confidential material were reduced and they were released on bail."
"Weren't they dishonorably discharged?" Angelia questioned.
"That's the best part; between their lawyer and some General they were close to, they got an honorable discharge and a pension for being in the service for over 20 years. No one knows where this person had all the Top-Secret records hidden. But they sold their house, everything in it and left DC. Then a week later classified documents started showing up online."
To be continued…
A/N Thank you everyone who reviewed the first chapter. You motivated me to get the second chapter ready and posted quickly. Thank you to my excellent Beta Mary, and for all her encouragement to start posting this story.
Please let me know what you think of the story so far. How did you like or hate the twist with Stephanie? What do you think of his family?
This is Ranger's family as I have created them. I hope you enjoy their different personalities as much as I did writing them.
Ranger's Family Album – Published at the end of some chapters for reference.
Mother's Mother – Abuela Rosa, Father's Mother – Abuela Sanja Manoso
Mother – Maria Manoso Father – Javier Manoso
Siblings and families in age order
Leyla (35) & Richard Gonzales – Rebecca (Becky) 12, Margaret (Maggie) 10, Richard (Ricky) 7, Michael (Mikie) 5
Angelia (34) & Jordan White – Shanna 5 – Kendrick (Ricky) 3
Ricardo Carlos Manoso (32) – Ranger
Julio Manoso (30) Ex-wife Allysa – Jacob 2
Isabella (27) & Diego Diaz – Chris 8, Shylia 6, Parker 3
Oshanna Manoso (22)
Rachel & Ron Martine – Julie 12, Fredrico (Freddie) 9, Cassandra (Cassie)6