Hi all, I continue to be delighted by all the people reviewing, following, and favouriting my story. Especially the reviews, thanks for those. My muse has been a bit sluggish lately (winter hibernation?) so progress has been slow. But here is another chapter for you.

Up To Date

I waited on tenterhooks as the minutes ticked by into hours. Carlos had promised to call me when he got home from the takedown in Miami, and as night shifted into morning, my anxiety escalated. I wished I had Marco's or Tank's cell phone numbers as I waited for news. But I knew I couldn't really call and risk interrupting or giving anything away. All I could do was wait.

To try and distract myself, I thought about the date we had had in Newark, where Carlos had taken me to his uncle's restaurant, Tito Cubano, to try Cuban food cooked by his brother. I had been pretty apprehensive, concerned that his family might not appreciate that I was not Cuban, but his uncle had been welcoming and genial. His brother had been almost too enthusiastic about teasing Carlos about our relationship, I could feel Carlos' patience getting thin. The food had been divine. Carlos had ordered a variety of dishes for us to try, and I had sampled shrimp empanadas, plantains wrapped in bacon, and stuffed avocados for appetisers, and shared Cuban chicken paella and Vaca Frita for our entrees. For once, Carlos had indulged in dessert, and we shared each other's as he ate a traditional Cuban flan, and I enjoyed the tres leches cake. The whole experience was delicious, and I was secretly delighted that Carlos wanted to take me to a family-owned restaurant. I was very nervous about introducing him to my own family, but I felt like that time was coming soon.

I was giggling the next morning as I saw Carlos roll his eyes when his phone rang while we were eating breakfast. We had stayed in Newark, and Carlos had cooked us breakfast again, after another night of sensual ecstasy. I listened to Carlos say "Hola mama" before having a conversation in Spanish. I guessed his brother or uncle had informed his mother of our date at Tito Cubano. I heard him say several times, "Si, mama", "Tal vez", and "Te lo haré saber". I made a note to find myself a Spanish/English dictionary so I could figure out what he was saying.

When he hung up, I teased, "So, your mom heard about our date? Are we engaged now?"

He looked at me and said, "Babe. Paybacks are a bitch."

I spent several enjoyable minutes remembering his payback and the way he had made me scream his name. We were both keeping a few items of clothing at each other's apartments now, along with some toiletries. Bulgari was becoming my favourite scent in the world.

I caught myself tapping my fingers anxiously as I glanced at the clock again. One-twenty. I took a deep breath and tried to think about something else. Next week, I was going to enrol in a business computing course at Mercer County Community College. It was a six-week adult education course, and I hoped it would help me a lot to work with Carlos and Rangeman. Carlos had been very supportive. I would attend classes at night, three times a week, and I would get a certificate if I passed all the assessments. I was determined to succeed.

One-thirty. Suddenly I jumped as the shrill of the phone broke my anxiety-fuelled contemplations. I picked it up quickly, "Carlos?" I asked.

"Yeah, Babe, it's me. Sorry it's so late, but it didn't go as smoothly as we'd hoped. He wasn't at the first two bars we went to. Eventually we tracked him down to a third bar, and he had some friends. They pulled weapons when we approached, and we ended up with the police called. It's been a clusterfuck." Carlos sounded exhausted and disgusted.

"Was anyone hurt?" I asked. "Are you OK?"

"Nah, nobody was injured. Well, technically one of the idiots who pulled a knife got a bullet graze from Lester, but it was just a band-aid injury. No, the delay was all down to getting him outta the bar without his entourage and causing a major scene with cops and hours of paperwork. Has to be a better way, to be honest. I thought of having a woman lure him out, but there's nobody here in Miami I trust enough to do that. And hiring a woman to do it would probably cause as many problems as it solved."

"I'm just glad you're all ok. I was getting worried when it got so late." I paused and took a deep breath of relief. "How much longer are you staying in Miami?" It was Wednesday morning now… technically anyway.

"I will probably head back Friday, Babe. I was gonna come back Thursday, but Marco has found someone who may be interested in being a silent investor in our expansion. We've set up a meeting on Thursday morning to sound him out. So, I'll head back Friday."

"I will be waiting for you. I've missed you," I whispered.

I could hear the tired smile in his voice, "I've missed you too, Babe. Listen, I've gotta get some sleep. I'm done. And you should get some rest too, Babe. I'll call you tomorrow, ok?"

"Ok, Carlos. Sleep sweet."

He gave a low chuckle, "Babe." He hung up and I flopped back onto my bed in relief and exhaustion. Thank God all had gone ok and the worst they had had to deal with was cops and paperwork. Four hundred thousand dollars. My tired brain tried to contemplate that much money from one night's work, but I couldn't wrap my mind around it. Although, in truth, it wasn't one night's work. There had been all the research, planning, and surveillance to make it happen tonight. Oh well, it had worked, and everyone is ok. Good.

I decided to surprise Carlos by meeting him at the airport. He was flying into Newark and Marco had given me the flight details. I parked near his apartment complex and took a cab to the airport. I decided to wait near the luggage collection and watched with a mixture of excitement and apprehension as I saw people coming toward the luggage carousel. I hoped Carlos would be happy to see me. I saw him striding toward the carousel, tall, gorgeous, and confident, dressed in an impeccable business suit. Just about every female eye was following him, but he was ignoring it and looking at his cell phone as if thinking about making a call. As he neared and his steps slowed, I stepped in front of him, and he was forced to stop walking. He looked up in obvious irritation, but his eyes immediately changed to warm surprise and pleasure as he swept me up immediately into a crushing hug.

"Babe," he murmured, "I was just going to call you. What are you doing here?"

I was ignoring the curious and envious expressions on the women around me, as I responded with a brief kiss and told him, "I wanted to surprise you. Marco gave me your flight details."

"He returned the kiss with a lingering one of his own, "I am surprised, Babe, but happy to see you." I grinned at him. We waited quietly, just holding hands and basking in each other's presence, until the luggage carousel jerked to life and the first bags started to emerge from behind the plastic strips. It shouldn't have been a surprise that Carlos' small bag was the first to emerge and cycle toward us, he just had that kind of karma. He picked up the bag and led me out of the terminal building. Outside, he looked at me with an eyebrow cocked. I knew he was asking if I had driven to the airport, and I shook my head. He led us up to the taxi rank and opened the door for me.

Back at Carlos' apartment, he wasted no time taking me back into his arms, this time not breaking the kiss until we were both breathless and panting. Despite the fact it was only about two pm, I made no objections as Carlos led me to bed.

We spent the rest of the day in bed, making up for the five days apart. We ordered in takeout and lay on the sofa, wrapped in comfort with each other. Reluctantly, I spoke, "Carlos, there was another reason I needed to come to Newark. I was contacted by the lawyer, Ms Elden, yesterday at the office. She said that the Newark Fire Department and the Department of Public Safety have finished their investigation into the elevator accident. They wanted to meet with us to brief us tomorrow afternoon. I explained that you were in Miami, and I would have to confirm with you, but we are tentatively scheduled to meet with them at 2pm tomorrow afternoon. At the same building. And Ms Elden is going to be there again."

Carlos looked contemplative at that. He had been in contact with Ms Elden and Captain Pearse to keep up with the progress of the investigation and get a couple of updates on Officer Rodriguez. Rodriguez was recovering and had been undergoing physiotherapy for his hands. It looked like he would regain most functioning in his hands for everyday tasks but would never again be able to be a firefighter. I had been sad to hear that for his sake, but at least he wouldn't be severely disabled. Carlos spoke, "Yeah that's fine, Babe." He looked at me, "How do you feel about it?"

I gave an unconvincing shrug. "I'm ok, I guess. I didn't sleep all that well last night, it… it just brought back memories. But I could use the elevator here, so I guess that's progress." Carlos hugged me to him in response.

He leaned in to whisper, "I bet you'll sleep well tonight, Babe, I'm gonna wear you out." I blushed but made no protest as he leaned over to start kissing me again. Oh boy.

We spent a leisurely morning the next morning, having breakfast, and catching up on some business details. Since he had me there, Carlos decided to take me to his Newark office to help him pack up the equipment there, since he was giving it up in a couple of weeks. We got some boxes from a Walmart and went over to pack up the phone, fax, and computer he had there. It didn't take long. Carlos said he would store it until it was needed in Trenton. We had the phone forwarded to the Trenton office already, that was how Ms Elden had contacted me, so it was a matter of an hour before we were heading out again.

Carlos took me out for lunch to a restaurant called the Spanish Tavern, where we shared paprika shrimp for a starter, and I had incredible scallops stuffed with crab meat and topped with cheese for entrée. I don't think I even noticed what Carlos had for an entrée, I was so focussed on the incredible tastes and textures. But either he enjoyed his as much as I did, or I had been moaning again, because his eyes were very dark by the time we had finished.

We drove again to the Newark Fire Department offices, and I could not help tensing as we entered, and Carlos had to check his weapons at the desk. We were shown to the same conference room, and greeted again by Captain Pearse, the Fire Department attorney, Mr Affleck, and Ms Mackenzie from the Newark Department of Public Safety. We were offered coffee, which we refused politely, and Captain Pearse was asking us how we were recovering from the incident. Ms Elden was ushered in a couple of minutes later so the meeting began.

Mr Affleck spoke, "Mr Manoso, Ms Plum, our investigation has concluded into the incident. We are unable to share the official report as yet, but we are here to brief you on the main outcomes and, hopefully, answer any questions you may have." We all nodded. "First of all, the investigation has found no fault on behalf of the engineer, Mr Aldridge, nor any member of the Newark Fire Department. It appears the procedures were followed and no significant breaches of protocol. It was a slight error of judgement on behalf of Officer Rodriguez to handle the dismantling with only Officer Matthews to assist, but everyone was busy, and it was an understandable decision."

I was relieved that they did not appear to be blaming anyone involved in the rescue. Affleck continued, "There were apparently three problems with the elevator itself. There was a fault in the motor that controlled the ascent and descent mechanism, that likely caused the initial drop. The emergency brake failed to operate correctly, and the doors also did not operate correctly. All of these issues seem to be linked to issues with maintenance of the electrical and mechanical systems of the elevator. The engineering company, which Aldridge represented, had not been contracted to the building for regular maintenance for at least two years, and there was significant contamination and deterioration of the systems."

I could see my anger at the building owners reflected in Carlos' expression. Affleck went on, "The building owners are being charged with several charges related to negligence and breaches of code. There will likely be charges also related to the trauma suffered by Rodriguez. He has suffered a permanent level of disability, and this will affect his future and career, so I think you can understand that we will be seeking compensation on his behalf. The main question from your perspective, which you will have to consider, is if you wish to pursue any legal complaint yourselves. It would be a separate, civil claim from the Department's lawsuit, but you would have a good chance of receiving compensation for your trauma, should you pursue a claim."

Carlos and I glanced at each other. I thought we would have to discuss it, but I think we were both angry enough to press charges. Affleck finished, "Another aspect of your claim may be the lack of 'out of order' signs on the elevator. We have confirmation from at least three sources that the elevator was still considered out of order when you entered. That certainly contributes to claims of negligence. Any claim would be strengthened by a successful outcome for the Department, so I would suggest you wait on the outcome. I have to warn you, that this will likely not be resolved quickly, unless the building owners choose to settle the suit out of court. If it goes to court, it will likely take months, if not longer. I can provide Ms Elden with the necessary documentation if you decide to proceed."

Carlos asked a couple of follow-up questions about some specifics. When the meeting was finished, I saw Carlos talking quietly to Captain Pearse, and he handed him an envelope. I raised an eyebrow at him enquiringly, as we followed Ms Elden out of the building, but he just shook his head minutely at me, as if to say, 'later'. Ms Elden suggested we come back to her office to discuss proceeding with a lawsuit, and we agreed. As we drove to her office, Carlos explained that he had given Captain Pearse a letter and business card for Raoul Rodriguez, telling him to contact Carlos if and when he wanted to discuss a change in career. I couldn't hug him since he was driving, but I couldn't help squeezing his hand in gratitude for his thoughtfulness and generosity.

The law firm was in a nice, historic-looking building in downtown Newark, and Ms Elden had a pleasant office with large windows on the second floor. Ms Elden felt we would both have a strong claim. The building owners were likely to be found guilty of negligence and that had been the direct cause of trauma and failure to prevent harm, to us and to the Officers. We would likely have a claim for mental and emotional injury, and potentially for loss of income. I wasn't too concerned about the money, but I was definitely interested in making the building owners pay for their callousness, miserliness, and negligence. I just hoped Rodriguez would get fair compensation. I knew if Carlos had any sway at all, Rodriguez would take them to the cleaners.

After we left Ms Elden, we collected my car and Carlos followed me back to Trenton. Carlos had a line on a skip he wanted to pick up tomorrow, and I had a phone meeting with Tank at 9am. Tonight, we would stay at my apartment. I unlocked my door, and was putting my bag down, when I felt a warm, hard body pressed against my back and a pair of hot lips nibbling on my neck. I melted back into Carlos' embrace, and he swept me up murmuring, "About that moaning over lunch, Babe. Time for more moaning…"

I was happy to comply.

I am not a lawyer, have no real knowledge of legal proceedings, beyond tv shows. So please forgive me if this isunrealistic in any way.

Spanish translations (from Google):
Si, mama – yes mama
Tal vez – maybe
Te lo haré saber – I will let you know