Chapter 41

As Ranger parked the car at the back of the bonds office, I was feeling both excited and nervous at the same time. Excited to see Connie and also to find out if I'd been right about where Sully's clues had led me to, but nervous in case we had anyone watching our every move. That nervousness was sending my spidey senses into overdrive as I looked toward the back door because I knew that I probably had the police looking out for me and was still nervous about those four men turning up.

"Surveillance hasn't seen anyone watching here and I have two teams watching our backs"

I hadn't realized that my nervousness was that obvious but acknowledged that it had been me that was determined to come. After glancing at Ranger as he told me that, I was back to looking at the door that led into the back of the office.

"Okay, let's do this"

I waited for Ranger to open my door before getting out of the car and heading to the door. Together we entered the short hallway that led through to the front office. As agreed, I stayed by the doorway, away from the window and out of view, while Ranger stepped forward into Connie's sight.

"Ranger, long time no see. Are you here to pick up the files?"

Ranger stood patiently waiting as Connie sorted through her paperwork and then as she handed them to him, he looked over to me. That had Connie looking over to where I was hiding, a smile immediately coming to her face.

"Steph, my god is it really you. How are you even here?"

Connie moved quickly from her chair and before I knew it, I was wrapped in her arms in a hug.

"You shouldn't be here. The police are looking for you"

As we moved apart, I could see the concern in her eyes. Looking over to Ranger I knew that we needed to get done what we came here for.

"Is Vinnie in?"

I asked knowing that Connie would be surprised that I was asking.

"Err, no. He's down at the courthouse"

That was all that Ranger needed to hear before he was working at the lock on Vinnie's door. As soon as the door was open, I was following him, unaware that Connie was also with me.

Ranger was stood looking at that damn poster but even with the injuries that he still had, his posture showed just how annoyed he was. The black of his Rangeman uniform only emphasized the strength that lay below it. I walked up to him and lay my hand on his arm aware as he started to relax and look my way.

"That pervert, why the hell does he have that here in his office"

I didn't even want to think what the answer to that might be.

"Connie, why don't you take that outside and put it in the skip at the back of the building"

To enable Connie to do that Ranger pulled the poster over before handing it over to her. I knew that she was shocked at seeing it so she obviously had no idea that the poster was here. Connie never asked why we were in Vinnie's office, maybe she assumed that it was because of the poster. I was aware of Connie struggling with the poster and as she left the room but to be honest I was too focused on the safe that was sat in the corner I remembered it from when I'd caught a glimpse of it before and to be honest, it was just as Sully had described it in his verse.

"9, 2, 9, 19, 1, 13, 1, 2, 19, 3"

Were the numbers that Ranger needed to open the safe and I watched as he turned the old dial first to the left and then to the right. As the dial hit the last number, I was holding my breath as he pulled down on the handle and swung the door open. I couldn't see inside as he leant forward and was so worried that there'd be nothing to find.

"Let's get out of here"

I saw an old leather pouch in his hand as he swung the door shut and spun the dial. I definitely agreed with what he'd said so turned to walk out of the door back into the office.

"Babe, wait"

Too late, because no sooner was the door open than I felt someone grab hold of my wrist. Maybe it was instinctive or maybe it was a reflex action but as I was dragged through the door, I pulled it shut behind me. I was glad that had happened because I didn't want anyone to know that Ranger was still inside and now had hold of Sully's files.

"Miss Plum. I need for you to come with me"

Detective Sorenson fastened a cuff around my wrist that he had hold of, with the other one going around his wrist. Why would he do that? Or did he think that if he fastened me to him then I wouldn't be able to escape from him. We'd see about that. Hadn't Hector taught me how to pick the lock on a cuff? As his other arm came around me, I found myself being dragged outside onto the sidewalk and straight into the open door of a car parked right outside.

"Drive"

Came from Sorenson as he slammed the door shut. I was looking around me for where any of the Merry Men were and was so disappointed that Ranger hadn't come rushing out of the bonds office. We were already driving away as I turned to look back, and saw a black SUV pull into the curb in front of the office.

I knew that they'd follow me and that they'd have my tracker on their screen. I turned to Sorenson seeing the man in the disheveled suit. He looked older than he had done when I'd last seen him as though he hadn't slept in an age. His brown hair was in need of a comb as it fell down to his collar and he definitely hadn't taken the time to shave.

Looking forward I was starting to worry as to who was driving, realizing now that the driver was wearing a cap on his head, definitely not the attire of a police officer.

"Miss Plum, do you realize how much trouble you're in or how much trouble you've caused us?"

This man had no idea what trouble looked like, it had been plaguing me ever since the hold up at that bank. I looked ahead refusing to answer him, though I was pretty sure that he wasn't expecting me to reply. That was when I realized that the route that we were taking wasn't going to be taking us anywhere near to the police station.

"Where are we going?"

I asked, slightly panicked now, really hating the glib reply that I got.

"Somewhere safe"

Yeah right, that was exactly what I was worried about. That was when he took out one of those damn machines from his side and started to move it over me. Of course it beeped when it passed over my pocket and again at the earring in my right ear.

"Push your shoes off your feet and then bend down and pick them up"

I glared at him when he told me to do that but when my arm was pushed hard up my back, I didn't think that I had much choice. Being pushed forward allowed me to pick up my trainers with my one free arm which I threw at him when he released his hold on me sufficient to sit back up.

"Earrings. Or do you want me to yank it out?"

I didn't doubt that he would do just that so took my time taking out my earring and handing it to him. Next, he was delving into my jacket pocket until he was holding the panic button in his hands. I shouldn't have been surprised when my gun appeared in his hand and watched as he pulled out the magazine and then ejected the loaded bullet.

My belongings went sailing out of the window along with any hope of me being easily found and my gun went into the pocket in the door next to him. Maybe I'd be able to get my hands on it but to reload it would take time, time that I wasn't sure that I'd get.

I sat in silence after that seriously worried now but equally annoyed. Where the hell was Ranger in the car that was supposed to be following us? My heart sank as we pulled off the street and into an underground parking area, the sudden braking sending me careering into the seat in front of me. Shit, was my first thought and then no was what I was screaming as I was being dragged through the door that had suddenly opened. Another car, they were swapping out cars so Ranger wouldn't know what car to look for. I landed across the back seat with Sorenson basically laid on top of me. All I knew was that we were moving again.

I thought I was going to be crushed to death as Sorenson's weight kept me in place and there were definitely tears now flowing down my cheeks. I had no idea how far we drove or how long for, only aware as the car seemed to take corners at speed. In some ways I was scared of when we would stop, scared that I was going to get beaten up again.

"Miss Plum?"

Had I passed out? Maybe, but only for a moment. It felt a relief to be able to breathe again but with that thought came the panic of where we might be.

"For fucks sake I told you to pick her up not nearly kill her"

I laid still at hearing that voice because I could swear that I recognized it. I wanted to know more about what the hell was going on so stayed still feigning unconsciousness.

"They were watching and closing in on us. I had to keep her out of sight. She's fine"

I felt myself being raised until I was sat up and to be honest was too nosey to keep my eyes closed. Stood leaning against the open door was Jackson Sinclair. My heart dropped at the idea that he was responsible for where I was now and what about Ranger? I thought that they trusted each other.

"Steph, Stephanie. Come on, we need to go somewhere that's a little more comfortable"

That was when I noticed that my wrist was free of the cuff so looked around for a way to escape.

"No fire alarms here"

If I didn't know better, then I'd say that Sinclair was almost smiling as he said that. I looked at his outstretched hand as he offered it to me but decided that I'd move under my own steam and at my pace.

"Kinley's waiting upstairs"

That did surprise me because I thought that I could trust her. Getting out of the car had me feeling some twinges of my ribs and I absentmindedly rubbed my hand over them. Now that I had a chance to get a proper look around me, I was surprised to see that we were in a garage with two other parked cars. Both Jaguars. I decided that there was no apparent way out so followed Jackson as he walked over to what I soon discovered was an elevator.

"I need to get back before I'm missed"

Came from Sorenson but as the man who followed me into the elevator removed his cap I now recognized him, well I recognized the bruise that was yellowing on his cheek and around his eye. I was so busy looking down at the floor that the doors opening surprised me.

"Steph, thank god that you're okay"

Came from Kinley as she greeted us. She linked her arm through mine and started to lead me down a short hallway and into an area that looked like it belonged in the future. Stainless steel was the theme for what I assumed was a kitchen and looking to my right for the dining area.

"We decided that here was the safest place. No one knows of this house so won't be looking for you here"

I stopped walking making Kinley come to a halt and look at me.

"What the hell is going on?"

She sighed and watched as Sinclair went to a wall of stainless steel and pushed against it revealing shelves full of bottles.

"Jack?"

"You tell her. I need to check in with our teams"

Tell me what? Why had I been brought here? Was Jackson the one who was after Sully's information? Did he think that I'd tell him anything?

Kinley took two cans of soda from Jackson and walked past the dining area, so I followed. As she sat down on the biggest couch that I'd ever seen she held out the can for me.

"Take a seat and I'll explain what I can"

Shit, did that mean that she'd only tell me what she wanted me to know and miss out details? I sat down anyway because any information at the moment was better than none.

"Sorenson was the person who first raised concerns with regard to the deaths of people who were, to put it politely, murderers who seemed to be getting away with it. He noticed that Judge Laithwaite had presided on two of the cases that were thrown out for lack of evidence, so he paid him a visit. It was that visit that pushed the judge to talk to the FBI. When Judge Laithwaite died, the Attorney General asked us to do some digging so we've worked with Sorenson ever since"

That Sorenson was working with Sinclair surprised me. I mean he was the one who basically accused me of killing Joe when I came back from Miami and wasn't there a warrant out for my arrest?

"Sorenson became suspicious of Detective Michaels, his partner, when he was annoyed that you had a solid alibi for Morelli's murder, then he was pushing forward evidence that made it look like you had murdered the judge"

I remembered him as being with Sorenson when they'd called at Rangeman but to be honest I hadn't really taken much notice of him because Sorenson was the one who seemed to be leading the questioning.

"Kinley, why am I here?"

Because much as it was interesting to know the background story that wasn't my biggest concern, Ranger was. He'd be going ballistic trying to find me.

"The pattern that started to emerge involved apprehension agents. It seems that Sullivan was one of the first to be paid to find people and from there an assassin would finish them off"

I sat back and thought that through. Hell, they were probably some of the best people to find someone and no one would ever be suspicious of them.

"Steph, one of the people that we think was murdered was Harley Chroma. Les Seebring told us that Rangeman were the ones to find him"

I was sure that I was frowning at what Kinley was saying.

"But it was me that worked out where he would be"

And there it was, that lightbulb moment. Hadn't I been upset that no one had gone to his location sooner, before he killed himself. I'd given that location to Les who in turn had passed it on to Seebring and his apprehension agents.

"I was dubious of his suicide, it just didn't fit with who he was, so I played with the footage from cameras of the car that was used to kill Joanna Reeves. It was Chroma's car and his hat was being worn by the driver but when I analyzed all of the footage, the person driving the car was shorter and wore gloves. I think Chroma was set up and then killed to cover for Reeves being run down. No follow up investigation needed because the police had who they thought was responsible. Chroma was passed out at the time so had no alibi"

Well shit. So were we talking about those two bounty hunters?

I really needed for Ranger to be here because this conversation was getting far too complicated.

"Does Ranger know where I am, because he is going to be really pissed off that I was taken"

"He knows. I always assumed that you knew more than you were saying, and my suspicions grew when I saw how easily you gave that book up for Ranger"

I was horrified that Kinley would think that. If I'd had to, I would have told those men everything that I knew in order to save Ranger.

"I know what you were thinking. Keep an ace up your sleeve just in case you needed a stronger bargaining chip"

Okay, she was right there but I had no idea if that leather pouch contained information that would be relevant to bringing down what Sully had termed as the men with power. I mean what about any other bounty hunters who were involved and that woman who was possibly the assassin? Then there was the unanswered question of whether Joe had been involved.

"Ranger wants some closure for that mission that went FUBAR and you found the answers that he needed"

I knew that. I'd seen how that mission had affected him, both physically and emotionally so was aware of how important it was for him to get some answers. But why had Kinley raised that in our conversation now? I watched as Kinley took a phone from her pocket and stood up walking away from me as she answered it. Her back was to me, so I had no idea what was being said, if it was good news or bad. Kinley said very little but as she slipped her phone back into her pocket and turned to me, she was smiling.

"Carlos and his men had to resolve an issue outside of the bonds office. Apparently, a woman was helping what appeared to be you out of the back door when someone started shooting at her"

I had no idea what Kinley was saying to me because I'd been dragged out of the front door and had no memory of hearing gun fire.

"It seems that the gunmen were shooting at a life size poster of you. Carlos and his men had to deal with them"

"The ones from last night?"

I asked hoping that at last they'd been stopped from terrorizing me.

"Yes. The woman sustained a bullet graze on her arm. She's fine"

I opened my mouth to ask for more information but then closed it as I suddenly understood what had happened. Connie had been taking that damned poster out to the skip. Obviously those four men thought that it was me so had tried to kill me and ended up grazing Connie and probably shooting the shit out of the poster. But that same question came to me, why kill me? Other people knew what I knew, didn't they?

"Why the hell am I here and why remove my trackers on the way here?"

Because surely only Ranger would follow them to me.

"Just being careful. This place isn't anywhere that Jack wants to be known about. He uses it as a safe house so is paranoid in case anyone discovers the place"

"Sorenson? Hell you said he had a warrant for my arrest"

And that was really bugging me. I mean why issue a warrant for me but bring me here to Sinclair?

"He and Sinclair decided that if you thought that you were on the police radar that you'd be more willing to stay hiding out at his building"

I accepted the answer because let's face it, I wouldn't be getting another explanation. I suppose that swapping out cars seemed logical as was Sorenson pushing me down onto the seat because as I'd worked out, cameras were being used to track vehicles. That Sinclair had come up with a trumped up warrant was really pissing me off now. I was wondering when Ranger would arrive thinking it was like déjà vu with me being kept somewhere safe by Sinclair and Kinley. I wondered if Ranger would bring what we'd found at Vinnie's or keep it to himself. No doubt I'd find out soon enough so would let him take the lead on that one.

I spent some time stood at some patio doors looking out across a large backyard lost in thought, I suppose admiring how neat and tidy the whole place was with its paths and plants. Bored I went back to the couch and stretched out along it. I was getting worried about where Ranger was. Hell, the last time that he'd left me with Sinclair he'd gone and got captured by those men. I know that I must have dozed off, but something had me wide awake and that was when I sensed that Ranger was close. My eyes opened and I was up quickly walking back through the kitchen area toward the elevator. I stood back and watched as the doors slid open, not surprised to see Sinclair walk out with Ranger by his side. Ranger immediately looked at me, which had my heart swelling as I realized that maybe he was as aware of my presence as I was of his.

"You okay?"

He asked though I was sure that he'd have asked Sinclair about me.

"Yes. A bit shocked with my departure. How's Connie?"

There was a hint of a smile as he reached for my hand and then turned me to lead me back through to the lounge area.

"Pissed off once the shock wore off. To be honest I never thought that poster would have the impact that it did. It did give us a chance to outmaneuver those men though, but unfortunately, they wouldn't back down from firing at us."

As we sat down, I was wanting Ranger to tell me what had happened to those men. From what he'd said I was conjuring up images of them being shot and killed. I wasn't sure how to feel about that. In one way relieved because it meant that they couldn't come after me again and hurt me but, in another way, I always hated the idea that someone had died. I never got the chance to clarify exactly what had happened because Kinley and Sinclair joined us so was preparing myself for what had to be a serious conversation. As Ranger removed his jacket, he placed the pouch that we'd found down on the table in front of him. Of course, that had Kinley and Sinclair looking at it and then looking over to Ranger. I wasn't going to say a word so waited as Ranger got himself comfortable.

"Sullivan's information"

Was all that he said. I was confused when they didn't move or say anything but looked at me. I wasn't even sure what the hell they were after, I mean they had Sullivan's information.

"I'm curious Steph, with how you were the one to find it"

It seemed that Sinclair and Kinley were waiting for more details, and I was aware of Ranger looking at me. Huh, he wanted me to recount how we'd found it? I wasn't about to go through all of the details, but then again, I wasn't sure exactly what they knew.

"Sullivan dropped a book into my pocket when we were at that bank. I didn't know anything about it until a couple of weeks later when my jacket was returned to me from the police station and at the time had no idea that the old man with me was Sullivan"

"Is that what you exchanged for Ranger?"

I could see that Kinley was puzzled by that and Sinclair almost looked annoyed. Of course, they would, because they'd think that I'd given away knowledge that they felt was important.

"The book contained a microdot, that we'd removed, with clues to a location. Once I worked it out then it was simple to collect it"

Kinley rolled her eyes and stared at me obviously wanting more information.

"We worked out that Sullivan had added more information to it, the woman who died on Ranger's mission. Remember she'd bought a device to download data? Well we think she gave it to her uncle who gave it to Sully. The hiding place had to be somewhere that Sullivan was familiar with, and few people would know existed. It was in the safe at the bonds office"

As I finished giving the explanation Ranger had removed a wad of paper and we all watched as a pen drive fell from the pouch into his hand.

"So that man Dresden is involved in this"

I nodded my head at Sinclair but refrained from saying anymore because I knew how annoyed Ranger had been with the outcome of that mission.

"Have you looked at any of that?"

Came from Sinclair as he picked up the papers and began leafing through them. Ranger shook his head as he turned the pen drive over in his hand and then looked at Kinley.

"Can you provide me with a copy of this"

Kinley was quick to take the drive and then stood up disappearing through a door behind us. She returned moments later with a laptop in her hand.

"I'll copy the contents over onto this laptop"

As Kinley did that Sinclair was handing back the papers one at a time, after looking at them, to Ranger. I was keen to know what they told us so leaned over to try and read them as Ranger looked at them. I caught names and dates with details that had been recorded into a spreadsheet unsure how these could be of any use. The dates shown indicated that the information related to incidents that had happened nearly twenty years ago with Ricci's name featuring at the top of the list next to George Laithwaite's name as the presiding judge.

"Most of the names here are from years ago, but it shows how this group of people operated"

Came from Jackson as he continued to peruse the papers.

"Summaries of court transcripts that the group must have shared and discussed. They are all based in New York so that must have been where this originated from"

"Are any of the judges involved still alive?"

Came from Ranger as he placed the spreadsheet down in front of him.

"Only one that I'm aware of, Calhoun, though I'm sure that he's retired now. Now this is interesting"

Had our attention when Jackson became focused on the one sheet in his hands. I was dying to know what was written down and made myself stay quiet.

"It's a document that gives a name to the group, their purpose and allegiance to their work"

I was pleased that when that piece of paper was passed to Ranger, he held it between us so that I could read it as well.

This group will be known as the Paladins, knightly champions and determined advocates and defenders of a noble cause.

It has become apparent to the citizens of New York, that there is no security for life and property, either under the regulations of society as it at present exists, or under the law as now administered; Therefore the citizens, whose names are hereunto attached, do unite themselves into an association for the maintenance of the peace and good order of society. For the preservation of the lives and property of the citizens, and do bind ourselves each unto the other, to do and perform every lawful act for the maintenance of law and order, and to sustain the laws when faithfully and properly administered. We are determined that no thief, burglar, incendiary or assassin, shall escape punishment, either by the quibbles of the law, the insecurity of prisons. the carelessness or corruption of the police, or a laxity of those who pretend to administer justice.

Well shit, these people meant business if they'd gone so far as to write this down even back when they'd first started. I assumed that they were still staying faithful to what had been written.

"Oh crappity, crap"

Had my head coming up and looking at Kinley. Why had she said that, had she found out something big?

"Kinley, I don't like the sound of that"

Okay, maybe it was something that Kinley said, and Sinclair had a better idea than I did of what that phrase meant. Watching Kinley, she was definitely looking frustrated as she screwed up her nose and closed her eyes.