My muse has been on a roll! So you get this lovely bonus chapter this week. :)
As always, thanks for reading and please review.
Standing Up
My excitement over bounty hunting had dimmed somewhat after nearly an hour sitting on the street in the heat of summer in a black truck. I was reluctant to run the air conditioning since I was parked on the street and it would have drawn attention, even though the windows were tinted. I was sipping cautiously at the water, worried that I would need the bathroom again if I drank too much. I had the windows cracked open, hoping desperately for some breeze, but mostly so I could listen for any whistling. I opened the bag of chips and tried to distract myself from thoughts about roasting in the truck.
I froze as I saw a figure come walking up the street. I reached into my bag for the stun gun and empty gun and braced myself. I was terrified to try and apprehend a violent criminal, and I had to remind myself to breathe. I almost collapsed in relief as the figure came closer; it was obviously not Estoni, and the man walked up the path to the next-door house and knocked. A woman opened the door and greeted the man enthusiastically. I suspected they were going to have a busy afternoon. I rolled my shoulders and tried to relax back down into the seat, as I went back to waiting and watching.
Another half-hour passed and I was starting to squirm in my seat again, this time from discomfort and stiffness, rather than excitement though. I was rocking from side to side to ease the cramps in my backside when I froze; was that a whistle? I listened intently and a couple of minutes later I was certain I heard two faint whistles. Quickly, I started the truck and drove around the block to the laneway. I eased the truck into the laneway and was thrilled to see Lester standing over a man lying face down on the grass beside the laneway, his hands clearly cuffed behind his back. Our plan had worked!
I grinned at Lester, and he returned it with a grin of his own. He hauled the man up off the ground and ushered him into the backseat, shackling him with ankle bracelets, before seating himself beside me in the front and hitting the child locks in the back. I headed off to the police station and asked, "Everything went to plan?"
"No problem," Lester replied. "He showed up the same way he left, and I jumped him." The man in the backseat spoke up to claim he had done nothing wrong. I thought that was a bit stupid. After all, he had been caught with the stolen vehicles, and the mayor's niece picked him out of a line-up. Either way, it wasn't up to us to make a judgement. I just shook my head, and we parked in an area marked for drop-off. I had been there once before with Carlos, and he had walked me through the process so I would know if necessary. As Lester pulled Estoni out of the truck, he leered at me and made a rude comment. His shoulder slammed into the door painfully as Lester told him to keep his mouth shut.
I smirked as I followed them into the station. Inside the station, I watched curiously as Lester submitted his paperwork to the officer on duty at the desk. He signed a couple of forms, was handed a receipt, and then the officer followed him over to the bench where Estoni was seated to lock him into the shackles on the bench, before handing Lester back his handcuffs and shackles. It was all quite fascinating, and I was absorbed, so I did not notice someone coming up behind me.
"Hey cupcake," I heard a voice drawl. I sighed, both at the nickname, which I despise, and the likely confrontation to follow. Lester came up to me, looking curiously and suspiciously at the man trying to get my attention. Morelli went on, "Long time, no see. You've got a new thug bodyguard, I see."
I swallowed down the impulse to turn and slug him on the nose, before I replied, not loudly, but quite clearly, "Hello Officer Morelli. This is my colleague, Lester Santos, who is a licensed fugitive apprehension agent. We both work for a company called Rangeman, and my boyfriend is the CEO. We just brought in a violent felon who failed to appear in court after assaulting the mayor's niece. Was there anything else you needed to know?"
Morelli looked like he had swallowed a lemon at my coldly formal tone and the information I had shared. Lester moved up beside me, and I deliberately turned toward him and away from Joe Morelli. "Everything sorted?" I asked.
"Yup, we can go collect the check and continue looking for our next FTA." Lester responded. He gently took my elbow to lead me out of the police station.
"Good afternoon, Detective." I added as we left. Morelli looked even more sour at that. Good.
Lester offered to take me out for dinner, but tonight was a college night, so I declined and waved him off back to Newark, before working for a couple more hours at the office. At five, I went down to buy a sandwich and a coke at the deli, before heading off to class. I met Tricia at the entrance to college and, as usual, we headed into the lab for tonight's tutorial.
Tonight, in fact all of this week, we were working on spreadsheets. I had my college diploma to understand the business spreadsheets, although the automated electronic functions were new. But Tricia was struggling; she said figures and finances were not her strongest area. So, I was helping her, as we worked through the exercises. Mr Logan walked slowly around the lab, stopping to answer questions and explain concepts and processes when needed. He stopped behind us, listening as I explained about how to set up sum functions in the spreadsheet, and he smiled at me and complimented me on my understanding and willingness to help my fellow student. Most of the class was still attending, after four full weeks, but I had noticed that the young girl who asked about extensions on the first night had stopped attending. I shook my head when I thought about that; we had paid for this up front. Either she had money to burn, or her parents were going to be disappointed when she didn't earn the college certificate they had paid for.
It was Friday night, and when we finished, it was still only just after eight pm. Tricia asked me if I would like to go out and have dinner and maybe get a drink. She said she might catch up with a couple of friends at one of their favourite bars, and I was welcome to join them. I hesitated, thinking, but it was Friday night and a long time since I had enjoyed a drink with female friends. I looked down at my clothes. Tricia had come from work, and was wearing a pretty green blouse, a pencil skirt that hit just above her knees, and low heels. But with my work on this day, I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt with running shoes. Tricia suggested I run home to get changed if I wanted and we could meet at a popular Chinese restaurant in half an hour. I agreed, told Tricia what to order for me, and motored off home.
I quickly changed into a pair of flared, hipster, black pants with a wide red belt and teamed it with a black and white crop top. I added a bit more makeup and pulled my hair back with a red headband. I finished off with a pair of mid-heeled red sandals and headed back out to meet back up with Tricia. We enjoyed our Chinese food and laughed at a couple of stories we each told. Tricia told me about why she had become a librarian, and some of the challenges and unusual issues that brought. I laughed when she told me it was a sure-fire way to shut down chatty cab drivers when you tell them you're a librarian; they have no idea what to say. I chuckled and suggested that I should tell them I am a bounty hunter. That would probably shut them up as well. Tricia giggled and agreed.
After we finished our dinner, we headed to a local bar called the Ivy, and each ordered a beer. I reminded myself to take it easy, since I am a lightweight with alcohol, and resolved to swap out for a glass of water between each drink. We had just finished our first beer, when Tricia stood and waved to two other women who had just entered the bar. They came over, smiling, and greeted Tricia warmly. Tricia introduced them as Jess and Rebekah; and told them I was her friend from college. We chatted for the next two hours, getting to know one another, and I enjoyed very much the time relaxing and sharing tales. Both girls were fascinated by the elevator story and squealed when I told them I had ended up dating Carlos. Apparently, it was 'just the most romantic thing ever!'. I suppose it was, but the elevator experience was still something I didn't look back on with much pleasure; other than meeting Carlos, it had not been an experience I would ever want to repeat.
A live band started playing around 10, and eventually we got up to dance to the lively rock. A few men came over and danced with us; each of us was asked to dance several times. I danced casually with a couple of men but declined any offers to buy me a drink or sit with them. It was a fun evening, and a great time with new friends, but I was already missing Carlos. I missed him holding me, dancing with me, kissing me. After my third beer, I switched permanently to water, and by midnight, I was ready to call it a night. It had been an intense couple of days, and I was ready to just go home and crash. I said my goodbyes to Jess and Bek and promised to meet up with Tricia tomorrow for our usual study session and left the bar. I walked slowly to my car, enjoying the slight breeze in the early morning air. I drove home; happy to lock the door and crash into bed after washing my face and brushing my teeth.
The next morning, I met back up with Les when he drove down around ten o'clock, and we had coffee together before Lester suggested getting me a gun and a cell phone of my own. I declined the gun but agreed that the cell phone was a good idea. Lester convinced me to at least buy a defensive weapon; even just helping him and Carlos on surveillance, it would be better to have a weapon to defend myself. Reluctantly, I agreed.
Les used his own cell phone to call information and find out about gun shops in the area, since I had no idea. He told me there was one called 'Sunny's' in the area. Before going there, we drove to the electronics store where Carlos and I had bought the computer equipment, and the saleswoman and Lester helped me to select a cell phone and connect to a monthly plan that would be charged to Rangeman. The phone was included on the plan; it was expensive, but I knew it was going to be essential in the future. Even just helping out with surveillance, or if I happened to spot a skip randomly, I needed to be able to contact Les or Carlos.
After I had my new phone tucked into my bag, Les directed me to Sunny's Gun Store. I entered curiously and looked about. Sunny was a woman in her forties with dark-leather tanned skin and bleached hair. She looked like she was constantly upbeat and smiling, going by the laugh lines on her face. Les drew me to the counter and he and Sunny began to discuss what I needed for defence weaponry. Sunny recommended something called 'Sure Guard' which she said was a 'genuine chemical weapon'. It sounded terrifying, but Les agreed to buy me a purse-sized canister with a clip that I could attach to a strap or key ring. It came in three colours. Lester selected black. I rolled my eyes.
Les was examining tasers next. I wasn't really sure about that; I was concerned about electrocuting myself. Les told me it was either an electrical weapon, or he was going to insist I get a gun. I gave in and said I would use a stun gun. He selected a small, black stun gun and he and Sunny gave me a couple of minutes of instructions on using it. I felt at least I would be less likely to electrocute myself with a stun gun than a taser. Les pulled out a credit card to pay for the weapons. I went to object, but Les quietly told me it was a Rangeman credit card, so I relented. He told me, when Carlos returned, that I should get him to set up a similar card for me. I felt a bit uncomfortable with that but could see the logic; especially if Carlos was off who-knows-where and I was left running the show here in Trenton.
After we left Sunny's, Les had me drop him back at Ranger's truck. He headed off to do surveillance for Miguel Alonzo and I headed into the office for an hour or so before meeting Tricia. I was preparing for the visit next week, making sure I had all the relevant information I could to help Tank in his discussions with Ramon Acosta. I had requested a copy of the blueprints of the buildings on Haywood Street and East State Street, and they had arrived yesterday. I decided to take them with me to the library, before meeting Tricia, so I could make some colour copies there.
Over a quick lunch at a nearby diner, Tricia and I chatted about last night and our mornings. Tricia was giggling over my description of buying the defensive weapons, and I tried discreetly to show her the neurotoxin spray canister and stun gun, without flashing it around the diner. Tricia called me a 'badass' and we had a laugh. After our lunch we headed off to the college for our Saturday afternoon session of studying and completing our worksheets. This week had been on spreadsheets and some business accounting. Previously, we had covered business computing in general, word processors, electronic mail, and Microsoft PowerPoint. The last had been completely new to me, and I was all excited about how to use it. I had prepared a presentation about bond recovery processes and submitted it for extra assessment. Tricia had decided to do the same and prepared her own presentation about libraries as community spaces. Mr Logan had been very impressed with both and told us they would earn extra credit.
We worked through our worksheet for the week, and I helped Tricia with the extra exercises in my handbook. Next week we started on the Internet and the World Wide Web. Both Tricia and I already knew a little about this topic; me from my previous short course I had completed, and Tricia from her own reading and attending library-related training and development. So, we were both really looking forward to the next couple of weeks to learn more and really explore this growing pool of information and networks.
Tricia and I parted around three-thirty, and I went back to my apartment to do some housework and laundry. At five-thirty, Les called me to say he had a tip on where Alonzo would be later tonight. As he had to stay in Trenton for a while, he suggested that we have dinner together. I agreed easily and decided to introduce Lester to some local Italian food, so made us reservations for eight. I dressed in a pretty dress of deep blue with silver jewellery and accessories. Les showed up, having changed his t-shirt for a button-up and added a tie. I wondered where he had gotten the clothes but decided it didn't matter and he escorted me down to his truck. I directed him to the restaurant, and he took my elbow to escort me inside. I really enjoyed the meal, ordering my favourites of fettuccini alfredo and tiramisu. Les was a great dinner companion, chatting and laughing, telling me tales of bounty hunting adventures and sharing a couple of stories of him and Carlos as kids. It was a fun evening, and I was pleasantly buzzed from excellent food and two glasses of wine when Les dropped me off to go and meet Hector, hopefully to take down Alonzo.
I settled down in front of the tv to watch a movie and smiled. I sent a quick mental kiss to Carlos; somewhere, I hoped somewhere safe, I hoped he knew I was thinking about him.
I hope you aren't disappointed that Steph wasn't involved in the takedown. I really want her other skills to shine in this fic, so she will help when she can, but let's face it, her takedown skills are pretty pitiful. And Ranger would kill Lester if she got hurt. So...