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Chapter 5

"I'm Steph." I ventured.

He glanced at me briefly, but replied readily enough, "Carlos," he murmured, "or Ranger if you prefer."

"Ranger?" I queried.

"Street name. I was in the Army Rangers." I nodded. Ranger fit his persona. He had that dark, brooding air, probably enhanced by the black clothes and smouldering eyes, like I imagine Batman. I always liked Batman. When I was young, my friend Carl Costanza had Batman comics. Despite the silly 'BAM', 'POW', 'SPLAT', stuff, they were fun to read. And Batman seemed to me like a much better superhero than Superman. Sure, he couldn't fly, which would be awesome by the way, but was more like a real man who just used what he had and fought the bad guys. Plus black is much sexier than red and blue. And plus, Batman is better with Wonder Woman. And it was my biggest dream to be Wonder Woman.

So, yeah. I can see him as a Batman-type superhero. Not the campy TV Batman with the, let's face it, incredibly annoying Robin sidekick. But more like the comics, bit darker, bit grittier, bit more realistic. Still, I couldn't help thinking I'd rather call him Carlos. Somehow his real name felt like a gift to me, especially in his faintly accented tones with the almost-rolling 'r'.

"Uh, thanks. Uh… For before I mean. When you saved me from falling." I almost stuttered out.

"De nada, Babe," he answered. Mmm… his voice was almost a purr when he spoke Spanish. It was warming in all the right places.

"Why are you calling me Babe?" I enquired.

He looked back over at me; his lips slightly tilted in an almost-smile. "Suits you," he smirked. Now that sent a warm wave through parts of my body. If asked, I would probably describe myself as averagely pretty on a good day. This man was scrumptious. If he thought I was a Babe, it was definitely flattering.

Unfortunately, his brief answers didn't bode well for a distracting conversation. I decided to be honest. "Look, I'm sorry if you find me annoying, but I'm gonna go crazy if I can't at least talk with someone. I don't do well with waiting or silence, and sadly for you, you're the only person here I can talk to."

His lips twitched up again. "What do you want to talk about?" he asked.

"Anything really. Are you from Jersey? From Newark?"

"Kind of. My family lives in Newark, but I grew up with my Abuela, my grandmother, in Miami from fourteen onward."

"How come?" I blushed, realising it could be a really intrusive question. "Um, if it's not too personal, I mean. Sorry."

"No, it's OK. I got into some trouble. I was hanging with a street gang, and my parents wanted me away from it. I was a rebellious little shit. Turned out to be the best thing for me, anyway. My Abuela straightened me out, and the Army taught me self-control and discipline."

That made sense. I nodded. "I'm from Trenton. Grew up there, all my life. I was working in Newark but got laid off a couple months ago. Since then, I've been job hunting, but it's not happening." He looked interested at the comment about Trenton.

"Why not?" He asked. You seem capable and personable. Why can't you find work?"

I sighed glumly, despite a small thrill at his assessment. "I was working for EE Martin. It was a department store with offices a few blocks from here. I was a lingerie buyer. Sounds glamorous, but in reality I spent my time haggling bulk purchases of granny panties and girdles." I heard a brief chuckle from him. "Anyway, they were shut down a couple of months ago by the FBI. The CEO and CFO are being investigated for mob money laundering. So, we all lost our jobs, and nobody wants to employ us, just in case we were dirty too. I wish I could say I had been. At least I'd have some decent savings to fall back on." He chuckled again.

"I've had forty-seven interviews, counting today. Nothing. I'm this close to having to move back in with my parents." I held my fingers up an inch apart. "And believe me, that's not something I want to do. I love my mom, and she's a great cook, but she's not someone I want to live with as an adult. I'd be home less than two days and she'd have someone lined up to come to dinner to marry me and father six kids with me. And he'd probably turn out to be a psycho. And my grandma moved in with them last year when my grandpa died. She's a hoot, a free spirit, and an all-around great grandma. But she and my dad fight like cats tied up in a bag. It doesn't make for a soothing environment."

I was silent for a while. He seemed entertained, so at least I hoped I wasn't annoying him too much with my chatter. He asked, "What sort of jobs are you looking for?".

"At this point, anything. Well, almost anything," I was thinking about the prostitute thing again. Nope, not doing that. Although, if it was this man… don't go there Stephanie! "I have a business degree, so anything admin, sales, reception. But I'm willing to consider almost anything, like I said, and I'm way beyond being picky. Problem is, my experience is under a cloud, and I don't have any references anyone wants to talk to. Makes it a bit tricky to impress anyone."

I sighed, the feeling of disappointment and despair washing over me again. Ah well, no point brooding on my problems now. I was alive, and just for now, that seemed like a pretty big plus. I tried to think of something to keep the conversation going.

"What about you?" I asked. "Are you a client of Klondike and Fleming?"

He didn't seem to register my question. He seemed to be deep in thought. He spoke, "EE Martin. Is that the empty building about five blocks west?" I nodded.

"Yeah. Did you have dealings with them?" I asked.

"No. I'm in the security business. There's been problems in the area and one of the problems is squatters in the empty building, doing drugs and trashing the place."

Typical. Probably turning my cubicle into a bathroom. Or a crack den. Still my resentment to EE Martin was rather strong. So, I hoped someone was pissing on the CFO's desk and smoking the CEO's pot-plant. I almost smiled at the thought of someone rolling up his Philodendron as a stogie.

I wondered if the security business was why he was at the firm where I had applied for the job. It seemed likely, especially if there had been trouble nearby. This area had not been too bad in the past but maybe it is deteriorating. Parts of Newark were shit-holes. I decided to try a different tack to see if I could get him to tell me more about himself.

"So, security huh? Is that like alarm systems and stuff?"

"Yes. Plus monitoring and responding to breaches." He briefly explained his company in Miami and his plans to expand in New Jersey. I was seriously impressed. He looked to be about my age, but his accomplishments were much more impressive. Army, Special Forces, establishing a successful company, and expanding to another state. All that after a rough start as a teen. In comparison, my own achievements seemed minor and trivial. At least I hadn't been whining too much. I hope.

He also told me he did bond recovery. I didn't know a lot about bounty hunting, outside of a vague description from my cousin Vinnie. Eww, yuk. I really hope Carlos has nothing in common with the duck-lover. But still... "You should work in Trenton." I told him. "My sleazy, disgusting cousin runs a bonds office there, and from what I've seen, there's a lot of scope for catching scummy criminals in Trenton!"

He eyed me curiously. "Really? That's a coincidence. I might even consider that. I've been struggling to find a foothold here in Newark and considering broadening my search. Trenton is close enough to Newark to be near my family. Plus, it's the state capital, so there would be some political movement there. That might help build the personal security area." He contemplated that for a minute.

Ooh… If I could get him to move to Trenton… Oh Steph, come on! I told myself. Like you'd ever have a chance with someone like him! Still, he had said some nice things about me, called me Babe… I am too used to putting myself down. These last few months had been demoralising, and had put serious dents in my self-esteem.

"So, why is your cousin such a scumbag?" He smirked again. This was a safer train of thought and guaranteed to quash any errant brooding.

"Vinnie's a massive pervert. Honestly, you don't even want to know what he's into. There have been solid rumours about his romantic involvement with a duck." I grimaced involuntarily and saw a similar flicker on his face. Whew! So not a pervert like Vinnie. "Plus, some of the people he bonds out are equally slimy. Everyone from sex offenders to mob enforcers."

I went on, "Still, from your perspective, there's probably a lot of scope for your crime-fighting services." Another flicker of a smile. Maybe he wanted to be Batman? I could be his Wonder Woman? Focus Stephanie, conversation here. "Crime rates are pretty high too, and gangs are starting to move in. It's actually a bit scary when I let myself think about it."

Which I don't want to; I try not to worry too much about Trenton's increasing crime profile. Still, the building where I live is full of old people. A lot of them are super-vigilant, to the point where I worry they'll pass comment on anyone I bring home. Dear God the embarrassment, if Mrs Bestler said something inappropriate while playing elevator operator. But the seniors keep watch over everything and are pretty quick to call the building manager at the slightest disturbance. So, it's fairly safe and there weren't any break-ins or anything so far.

I added to Carlos, "Vinnie's business is in the Burg. Chambersburg, I mean, it's a suburb of Trenton. My parents live there too. Lots of Italians and Hungarians, so there's bits of mob too." I decided to risk a tiny bit of flirting. "The Latino population is growing though." I smiled, "you might fit in there too."

His lips tipped up again. "Cuban," he responded to the unspoken question.

"My dad's Italian heritage, my mom's Hungarian. So, I got my mom's metabolism and build, and my dad's hand gestures and Italian curse words." For the first time, I saw his mouth curve into an actual smile. A 200 watt smile that almost blinded me. It was mesmerising. He had a fantastic smile. I hope I didn't gasp out loud.

Let's play, spot the reference to Smokin' Seventeen! Virtual chocolates to the first reviewer. :)