Ranger found a secure way to send General Frank Plum the photographs. His team visited a few cities in Colombia and heard the same rumours. Ricardo Manoso, who was really Javier Manoso, increased his popularity and importance in Colombia by working as a mercenary. It wasn't the only country where Ricardo Manoso had a reputation for being ruthless. He got handsomely paid to rid the cities of lesser men and women.
"How did he get away with this?" Lester asked. They had travelled around Colombia for three months and found enough evidence against Javier Manoso.
"Javi's a mercenary for hire," Tank replied. "His moral code revolves around him."
"Did your mom drop Javi on his head while he was a baby?" Bobby asked.
"Probably," Ranger replied. He never expected his brother to be that evil and sinister. Ranger's moral code didn't consistently point north, but he wouldn't do anything he deemed unethical. Javier was giving Ricardo Manoso a despicable reputation.
Ranger contacted Ace for an extraction. He wanted to take a break to check on his wife, but it wasn't possible. It seemed Ranger and his team kept missing Javier by a few days. Ranger got frustrated; they were always two steps behind.
"Do you think General Plum would assign men to watch the airlines for Javier to arrive?" Lester quietly asked. He sat back to back with Bobby as they waited for the chopper to arrive.
"No. Javier wears latex masks. He has aliases the military doesn't know about," Ranger replied.
"Thank goodness we didn't have to transport a body this time," Tank joked. Ranger felt his friend's body shake from silent laughter.
Swatting at the mosquito, Vince said, "I'd rather face those damn flies than these nasty bloodsuckers." The sound of helicopter blades muted the sound of Vince smacking his arm, killing the mosquitos. "I ran out of repellent."
"You should have said something," Ram replied. "I have extra."
"Now you tell me," Vince whined.
"Go!" Ranger ordered as he jumped to his feet. The others ran to the helicopter hovering a few feet off the ground.
Ranger smiled as he sat on the bench inside the helicopter. He recognized the handwriting on the shipping label. "Smoke figured you would need a care package," Zip said over the noise of the chopper blades. He passed the men headphones so they could talk.
After opening the parcel, Ranger laughed. Stephanie had a bag for each man on the mission. Inside Vince's package were treats and extra insect repellent. Ram received goodies and a new scope for his rifle. "How did she know mine broke?" Ram wondered.
Lester's package contained treats and playing cards. He grinned and shoved the deck of cards into his pocket. Bobby laughed and placed the medical supplies into his pack. He ripped open the package of licorice and ate a few pieces before adding it to the ziplock bag Stephanie provided. "Smoke thought of everything," Bobby said, shaking his head in amusement.
Tank was amused by the selection of treats Stephanie sent the team. He couldn't determine how she knew what they preferred. Tank tucked the flask of whiskey into his pocket. He would save it for a rainy day. "Well, I'll be damned. Smoke gave me crossword puzzles and pens," Tank said. He tucked them into the pockets of his cargo pants.
Ranger looked stunned as he removed the sonogram image from the envelope. He stroked the image. "Bat-boy" was written in the top left corner. "Ranger?" Tank asked, wondering what mesmerized his friend and commanding officer. Ranger passed the image to the others.
"My son," Ranger whispered. Stephanie sent Ranger a replacement battery pack for the camera and trail mix for his treat. Ranger tucked the sonogram image into his wallet.
"Congratulations," the men said after Ranger tucked his wallet into his front pocket. Stephanie was halfway through the pregnancy, twenty-three weeks to be exact. The mission to track down Javier Manoso took Ranger away from his wife.
"Do we have enough fuel to drop us in Brazil?" Ranger asked.
"We're landing on a Navy tanker to swap for a plane. Your team has thirty minutes to shower and change," Ace announced. "The helicopter only gets a thousand miles on a full tank. While they refuel the chopper, I can drop you in Brazil."
Ranger pushed external distractions aside to focus on their mission. The men charged their phones using the device Zip had on the helicopter.
Meanwhile, Stephanie was in Miami working on a contract with the military. Rangeman got hired by General Plum, General Phillips and the FBI to research areas of the dark web they couldn't access. Stephanie suspected the technical analyst for the FBI could find intel in the deepest, darkest places on the internet. However, since Stephanie built a rapport with Amber Meyers, they wanted her to manage the communications.
Stephanie and Silvio received their brief and ran with it. Before contacting Amber, Stephanie validated the intel collected by Ranger's team. What she uncovered made her blood run cold. Javier, Ranger's older brother, used Ranger's name to increase his importance in the third world and war-torn countries. Things Javier was doing made Carlos appear to be a horrible man. They had to stop Javier. Stephanie wondered how Javier managed to leave the countries under the radar.
"Look," Hector said, pushing the laptop to Stephanie to read the screen.
"Shit!" Stephanie snapped. She entered the web address into the search bar of the program Hector installed to capture information on the internet. Stephanie queried the website for Darcy Cooper's alias, Eagle One. She stumbled onto an online diary of sorts belonging to Cooper. "The man is my prey because I am the hunter," Cooper wrote. Attached to the message were pictures and videos. The height, approximate weight and body shape of the man in the images made Stephanie believe it was Javier Manoso.
Stephanie watched in horror as she watched Javier kill a family, execution style. A few photographs of the dead were in the file. Tears dripped onto Stephanie's baby bump as she viewed the images of the young children. Another video showed Javier, though his face looked different, grabbing valuables from their homes. The family kept their money inside their mattress. Javier pocketed thousands of dollars.
Cooper had a second file. Stephanie opened it to read the note. "He's onto me. I've dumped everything I have on this site because the hunter has become the prey. Hopefully, this intel will fall into the right hands, and the man gets stopped. His partner in crime is a woman. Check the last group of files for her picture. She provided his disguises. Please, tell my family I fought to the bitter end."
With shaking hands, Stephanie opened the remaining file. A beautiful blond-haired woman with blue eyes was smiling for the camera. Bending over behind her was Javier Manoso, who was busy stealing jewelry from the dead woman on the ground. "Who is she?" Hector asked.
"Amber Meyers." Stephanie shoved the laptop aside. She went to the kitchen to grab the jar of pickles. It was devastating to learn Amber was assisting Javier.
"Still craving those?" Hector asked.
Rolling her eyes, Stephanie replied, "Yup. I just opened this one a few hours ago. There are only two pickles left. Did Silvio remember to buy more from the grocery store?"
Stephanie and Hector were working inside the Rangeman building. They got the apartments prepared for when the men returned. Stephanie's refrigerator and cupboards were nearly empty of food supplies. She sighed as she closed the cabinets.
Someone knocked on the door before Stephanie could contact Silvio to purchase more pickles. Hector opened it wide and accepted the box of groceries. "Did you get pickles?" Stephanie asked, peeking inside the box.
"Yes," Silvio replied. "Rodriguez is bringing the rest of the groceries upstairs. We only bought non-perishables. Don't worry, Steph. You won't find marinara or pasta sauces in the box."
"Thank goodness. This little guy does not like tomato-based sauces," Stephanie sighed.
"We know," Rodriguez replied, entering the apartment after Silvio opened the door. Rodriguez raised a brow when he saw the laptop practically falling off the couch. He passed the groceries to Hector before righting the computer. "You've been busy," Rodriguez said, reading the information on the screen.
"Yup. How do I tell Matt Meyers that his daughter is neck-deep in the mess surrounding Javier Manoso?" Stephanie said. She took a bite of the pickle. The crunch of the cold pickle appealed to her. Stephanie loved the tangy dill flavour. She rubbed the baby bump as her son kicked.
"Is he moving?" Hector asked.
"Yes," she replied. Hector raised his hand, silently asking to feel the baby. Stephanie placed his hand on her swollen stomach. "It's probably too soon for you to feel. The doctor said it would be a few more weeks before that happens."
Hector shrugged. It didn't matter to him. He couldn't wait to feel the baby move. Seeing Stephanie's expanding abdomen made the baby real. "It's a shame Ranger couldn't share this time with you," Hector said.
It was Stephanie's turn to shrug. "Ranger's doing important work. He's collecting evidence to prove Javier is responsible for the crimes. I hope he's home before I give birth," Stephanie replied.
"More rumours are spreading," Silvio said after checking the secured email file from Frank Plum. "Your dad has to notify your father-in-law."
"I knew it would be soon," Stephanie confessed. "All it would take is for someone to mistake Ricardo Sr for the real criminal and endanger my in-laws. I know… Javier is my brother-in-law, but he's potentially endangering his family."
Stephanie sat beside Rodriguez on the couch. She placed the plate filled with pickles on the coffee table. "Did we get you the right brand?" he asked, pointing to the plate.
"He isn't picky," Stephanie replied, patting her baby bump. "I noticed you didn't buy any ice cream."
"We left them with Rosa. She's making empanadas for dinner," Rodriguez explained. He chuckled when Stephanie's stomach grumbled in anticipation.
Silvio opened his laptop and logged onto the system. He checked the cameras they placed inside Rangeman. Some of them, like the ones in the lobby and garage, were hidden. "I supervised the electricians while they were re-wiring the floors. The control room is wired for the computers and docking stations," Silvio explained, showing the areas on the digital blueprints. "Hector ran Ethernet cables so we don't have to rely on wifi on the floor." Stephanie smiled because it was a concern about someone interfering with the signal or hacking into Rangeman's systems.
"When are they installing the drywall and flooring?" Stephanie asked. She needed the timeline to order the custom desks to fit into the allotted cubicle space.
"Next month," Silvio replied. "The electricians want to set up the kitchen and the entertainment room. They ran out of wire. Hector will install the cameras and speaker wires. Rodriguez and Hector will supervise the drywall installers." Considering the drywall installation company was owned by Travis Brown, Bobby's older brother, it was overkill. However, they had a point because they didn't know who was helping Javier Manoso.
Stephanie groaned when she ate the last pickle. She was exhausted from setting up the apartment. It was time to go home to feed her fetus with Rosa's amazing empanadas. Stephanie rubbed her stomach and stretched before standing. Hector gathered the computers and charge cords. He packed the modem, router and other equipment he temporarily set up to connect to the internet.
"Thanks for getting the internet hooked up for the building. Remember to grab the rest from your IT room. I assume you got that set up after the electricians wired the floor," Stephanie said. Hector chuckled because Stephanie knew him well.
Stephanie's mobile phone rang when they arrived at Rosa's house. She smiled when she recognized her dad's number. "Hello," Stephanie answered.
"Pumpkin, I contacted Ricardo Manoso Sr about the potential threat," Frank replied.
"Okay. Do I need to explain anything?" Stephanie asked.
"No. I've asked Ricardo Sr to avoid contacting you, Carlos and Rosa to keep you safe. Maria is upset you won't be visiting for the holidays until Javier is captured," Frank replied.
Stephanie thanked her dad for the update and promised to remain safe. She would ensure the men were with her for appointments and travelling to the Air Force base and Rangeman. "Did he contact you recently?" Stephanie asked, referring to her husband.
"Yes. The team is en route to the final destination. You should see them after Thanksgiving at the latest. I love you, Pumpkin. Take care of my grandson," Frank replied and hung up. Stephanie shook her head and tucked her phone back into her purse.
In Newark, Ricardo Manoso Sr sat on the couch with his thumb and forefinger squeezing the bridge of his nose. "Why is Javi doing this?" Maria asked her husband.
"You know how Javi reacted when I sent Ricky to live with Mama in Miami. Javi seemed jealous but appreciated the attention we lavished on him," Ricardo replied.
"Javi got angry whenever girls asked about Ricky and left their phone numbers for him to call." Maria shook her head. It never dawned on her that Javier was angry about Ricky living with Mama Rosa. The woman was strict, but she was precisely what Ricky needed then. "Do you think Javi is punishing us or Ricky?"
"I think Javier wants to be Ricky," Ricardo Sr replied.
"Oh no. Stephanie and Ricky are in danger," Maria reasoned.
"Querida," Ricardo said, pulling Maria onto his lap. Ricardo tucked the loose hair behind her ear. It was a motion he remembered seeing his son, Ricky, doing with Stephanie. They were more alike than he thought. "Stephanie and Ricky aren't the only ones in danger. We are, too. Javi used the name Ricardo Manoso. There are two related to Javi."
Maria's lip quivered as she realized what Ricardo meant. Javier was making enemies and using his father and brother's names. "What has our oldest son done?" Maria gasped.
"Painted a target on us all."
Ricardo Manoso Sr was concerned for his family's safety. It bothered him that his oldest son would commit heinous acts in other countries and use his and Ricardo Jr's name to tarnish their reputations. However, Ricardo Sr felt Javier wanted to replace his brother. Ricky was competitive but never outshone his older brother. Ricardo Sr could do nothing to protect his youngest son and daughter-in-law. He could only protect his wife.
It was getting dark in the Brazilian city. Ranger slept beneath the tarp he tossed over the bush to use as a shelter. He thought about his last night with Stephanie. She was insatiable and sensitive. Ranger thought about Stephanie as he stroked himself. He couldn't hold off any longer. The need for release was overpowering as his balls ached. Bobby joked about blue balls.
Stephanie had promised Carlos to remain safe. He knew she would keep the men close. She wouldn't travel without them. Stephanie wouldn't have Zip around when he was helping Ace with drop-offs and extractions.
Bobby and Lester waggled their brows when they heard Ranger taking care of his bodily needs. Tank grinned and extended his hand for payment. Ranger lasted longer than they thought. "I told you," Tank said.