Being a nurse was always Rachel Manoso's dream. Since she was a young girl, she wanted to be a nurse just like her aunt Maria. Her brief marriage and giving birth to her daughter had slowed down her plan, but with Ric taking care of Julie after their divorce, she was able to get back on track. Even though she had given up her rights, a move her mother pushed her into, Ric still let her spend time with Julie, and she really enjoyed visiting with her daughter. Ric was the one who encouraged her to continue her education.
"You can teach future generations of nurses when you get your masters and your doctorate." He had told her when she confessed her interest in returning to school.
The Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial was Rachel's first choice when she graduated from Nursing school. Located on NW 10th Ave in Miami, Jackson made for an easy commute from the three bed, three bath condo she purchased early last year. She shared it with her two roommates who were also nurses at Jackson. And because it was a Level I Verified Trauma Center, working in the ER was always challenging. Sometimes difficult and frequently stressful, it was also rewarding- saving a life, easing pain, and last week she had delivered a baby before the doctor arrived- it was a such a rush.
She was halfway through her evening shift when a large man came up to her triage desk with an unconscious woman in his arms. At over six feet tall, with wavy blond hair pulled into a ponytail, she noted his deep-set chocolate brown eyes and a couple of days' worth of a beard. The man pleaded to have the woman assessed immediately. She was in her 30's, had no shoes on, and was held close to the man's chest. Rachel opened the double doors and indicated the stretcher in the first curtained area. He set her down gently and turned to Rachel.
"What happened to her?" She asked him.
"Her name is Stephanie- she was taken by some men that my team have been watching. they drugged her and hurt her before I could create a diversion and get her out." The man was in a controlled fury. Then he saw Rachel's name tag. "Manoso- are you related to Ranger Manoso, by any chance?"
At that, Rachel looked at the woman more closely- the curls, the shape of the face. "Oh my God, that's Ric's Stephanie!" The man's face brightened. "You know her? You can reach her family?" Rachel nodded as she took Stephanie's vitals, drew her blood and started her IV. Stephanie had bruising around her left eye, had marks on her neck and arms, and Rachel was certain her right shoulder was dislocated. There was no telling what her internal injuries would be… Her clothes, all of very high quality, were torn, dirty… Oh no!
"Do we need to run a rape kit?" Rachel asked gently.
The man shook his head. "I got there in time… they didn't… I … stopped them in time…" His face hardened. Rachel nodded.
By then the doctor, Elena Cabrera, had joined Rachel and started her head-to-toe assessment. "Sir, I will need you to step outside." Dr. Cabrera looked at the large man in the corner.
"That is not going to happen." The large man crossed his arms and bristled. "Until Ranger Manoso has his men in place, I am not going anywhere- Stephanie needs to be protected." The doctor nodded. Somebody had really worked this woman over, but there was evidence that she fought back… fought for her life.
Once Stephanie was on her way to get a CT of her head, Rachel told the man she would step out and call Ranger. "Can I tell him who brought her in?"
"I am Diesel, he knows me. Make sure he knows she is safe now." Diesel didn't mention that it was unlikely Ranger would be happy to see him.
"He will want to know who did this." At that statement, Diesel pulled out his phone and showed Rachel three pictures. Rachel gasped when she saw the third man. "Oh my God- I know that one."
"I am pretty sure Ranger knows all three." He then followed the young man who promised to take him to the CT waiting area. "They knew he was involved with Stephanie in the past.
Bobby Brown, MD, arrived at the CT suite just off the ER and found Diesel seated in a chair that was clearly too small for him.
"Diesel, you brought in Stephanie?" Bobby was barely holding on to his rage. Diesel nodded. "Who had her?"
Again, Diesel brought up the pictures on his phone and Bobby clenched his teeth as he reviewed them. "They are dead men."
"Not yet… but since I owe Ranger one, I am willing to help make it happen once my team is able to take the leadership of their drug and human trafficking network into custody." Diesel put his phone away. "But my priority was getting her medical assistance as quickly as possible."
Lester stormed into the house in a rage that instantly alarmed Valarie. "What's wrong?"
"Stephanie was attacked. We have to get to the emergency room. Ric's ex, Rachel, works in the trauma center and recognized Stephanie. She called him. We need to get there to make sure he doesn't kill anyone."
Lester spoke as he instructed Ram and Hector on what the kids would need while he and Val were at the hospital. Tank had arranged for teams of RangeMen to pick up Lula and Mary Lou and protect the children. He and Silvio were staying at the office to oversee the overall lockdown until the threat was better understood.
Rachel took her break and was waiting just outside when Ric arrived. His face showed the terror and anguish he couldn't lock down. He had sent Sybo and Cal to watch over Julie and Hal and Rodriguez were with his Abuela. He would kill the people who hurt Stephanie. He would show no mercy.
Rachel placed her small hand on his forearm. "Ric, the man Diesel, he saved her from three men that had her. But Ric, he showed me the pictures and I recognized one of them. I think he was the guy who drugged me and my friends that night, years ago. Do you remember?"
"And now he came after Stephanie." It wasn't a question. Rachel quickly reviewed Stephanie's injuries and that she was in CT now.
"Please take me to her."
Bobby and Diesel both took in Ranger in his black suit as he and Rachel entered the waiting area.
"How is she?" Ranger asked his friend.
"Ric, she has some significant injuries. We will know more when the scans are finished, but I believe she is going to need surgery. We will need Val to sign paperwork."
"She and Lester are on the way and Tank has everything locked down. What do we know about who had her? Rachel says she recognized one of them."
Bobby spoke first. "It to the LT's that took her."
"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?" Ranger roared and then he punched through the plaster wall.
Diesel showed Ranger the pictures. Ranger turned to Rachel. "Which one?"
Rachel quickly identified Lance Turner as the man who drugged her the night Ranger proposed to Stephanie. And now, again, he ruined Ranger's proposal. Rachel told Ranger to call if he needed anything and then went back to the ER to finish her shift.
Turning to Diesel, Ranger asked, "Where are they?"
"They are with Wulf."
"Were you watching her?" Ranger needed to know how Diesel ended up involved.
"No. Wulf and I have a team watching the drug distribution network and he notified me that Lance had taken a drugged woman on the boat he had in the harbor. I got there before Lance… He was going to … they were ready to take turns…taunting her that Ranger couldn't protect her now… Stephanie was fighting with all she had and the Leopold one drugged her again… I lost my temper… They are still alive, and Wulf has them close by… And I brought Stephanie here. I don't know what they gave her." Diesel didn't say that Wulf and two other team members had to pull him off the Lance one, to keep him from castrating the little fuck.
At that point in the story, Val and Lester arrived and Dr. Cabrera reviewed the CT with them and had Val sign the consents for surgery to address the internal injuries. Bobby showed them to the surgical waiting room.
"I have to finish my ER shift and then I will join you here." At that, he turned and returned to work. Lester called Tank with the update and the group sat.
Valarie looked at Diesel, and finally spoke. "When my husband got a concussion after hanging out with hookers playing strip poker, I wanted to kill you. And now you saved my sister… And I can't join those two events into one person."
"Ma'am, the Vegas operation was not supposed to be more than a learning event. The FBI agent in charge and his team were all disciplined for the mistakes made. I cannot apologize enough for the stress and anxiety those events caused you and your family."
"To my knowledge, Stephanie has never met you. So can you explain how it is you knew who my sister is?"
"General Welkin included her photo in the after-action report. When Wulf, he is my cousin and is working on my team, so when Wulf sent the photo of the woman they had taken aboard, I knew right away who she was. And I owed it to Ranger to intervene on his behalf." Looking over to Ranger he said, "I really never meant for your team to suffer the injuries you did. I am sorry."
"In protecting Stephanie, you washed the slate clean. I owe you for this. More than I can ever repay." Ranger offered his hand to Diesel.
By morning, Rachel and Bobby had joined the group, as did Richard Orr and Hans Müller, bringing coffee and breakfast. Mary Lou and Lula arrived with Tank after the RangeMan shift change. Richard asked how the group came to know the three men who had taken Stephanie. Lula told the story of the wedding over seven years ago. Diesel described the distribution and human trafficking ring and how it had been on Interpol's radar for the last few years. Rachel told of the night she and her friends had been drugged, now knowing just how much danger they had really been in.
"You would have woken up in a harem, or a brothel in Europe. They have taken hundreds of young girls over the years we have been tracking them."
Tank shook his head. "These three guys never struck me as being smart enough to run the type of organization you describe."
Diesel snorted. "I think they first got involved because they were bored rich kids with a sense of entitlement. And they are not the brains behind it. But we are getting closer.
Hans spoke up. "If there is anything my group can help you with, please let me know."
"Same here, Diesel. Anything RangeMan can ever do…"
The surgeon interrupted to say that Mrs. Orr had been moved to recovery, that while she lost her spleen, she should make a full recovery and that she would need to spend a day or two being watched in the ICU but then could be moved to a regular room.
Richard and Hans shook hands with the doctor as Mary Lou collapsed in tears. Lula tried to console her as Val hugged Ranger and Tank and Lester shook Diesel's hand before he left.
Richard asked when they could see her.
"As soon as she is settled in the ICU, we can let a couple of you in for a couple of minutes, but she needs to rest."
Val and Richard each took a turn and then Ranger settled into a chair beside her bed. He wasn't going anywhere.