Chapter 21: Ranger's POV (Tuesday, October 11th)

Today is the day. Today, Marco will do the unthinkable: go after my Babe. I never, in a thousand years, would have guessed that Marco would betray me like this. We were close, almost as close as Lester and I. When we first opened Miami, he was my number two. I've known Tank for a long time, but he wasn't my SIC initially. It was only after we started opening the other offices that Tank became my close friend. I don't know what caused Marco to change, whether the missions, the power, or a combination. He's married to a wonderful woman and has two sons, but he doesn't seem to appreciate the gift he's been given. Instead, he wants to destroy what makes me happiest.

Mariela came over this morning to help get Tommy ready for school. She will be taking Tommy and Julie so that Hector, Lester, Stephanie, Sean, Alex, and Slick can meet with me to review our counterplan. Unbeknownst to Marco, Hector planted several high-tech bugs in Marco's office, penthouse, and other locations. We heard every meeting he had, every word that was spoken, and every plan made. We will know if there are changes to the plan when Marco announces them. It is all we can do to keep Stephanie safe.

Lester has upped her training, and I am thrilled that Stephanie can hold her own now. I am confident in her ability to ward off an attack from seventy-five percent of the population. Steph's not ready to take on the Rangemen regularly in the gym yet, but soon. Since no one will expect her to have any skills, the surprise will be on her side. Hector has also been teaching her knife skills, which she quickly excels at. She seems to enjoy the throwing stars, especially. Babe said something about how it brings her back to college dart tournaments. I can see that she has some skills because her aim is right on target.

We are sitting in the office, hammering out the final details for today by listening to the meeting's recording from Saturday. Marco will have Gears mess with the video feed so Wrench, Carter, and Max can be smuggled into the building. Then, he's having two kids trip the alarm at Abuela's house. Before Saturday, we knew about this part because Hector and Alex have their ears in the gang grapevine. We compensated the two kids generously to only open the window but not enter. We'll give them a bonus if they do what we told them. That should be enough to ensure that Abuela won't be harmed. Either way, I have Manny and Binkie here from Trenton, and they arrived at Abuela's last night and spent the night there. She's thrilled to have visitors and has been spoiling them with homemade Cuban food. They are going to volunteer for Abuela duty more often now.

Alex and Slick will enter Marco's apartment at 1000 hours. I have a secret entrance into Marco's closet from my apartment. It is an emergency escape for me if I ever need it. The door only can be opened from my apartment, and Marco knows nothing about it. When we get the call for Abuela, Hector, Lester, and I will leave the premises, driving around the block where Mike, Maggie's husband, will be waiting to drive my car to Abuela's while his godson will take the second car. We will enter Rangeman from a secret entrance. An elevator will take us directly to the stairwell to the roof. On the plans, it's listed as a vent. We will enter Marco's apartment from the lobby.

"How far do we need them to get before we make our presence known?" Sean asks.

"Until we have enough incriminating evidence to show intent. Once someone approaches Steph with the syringe, that will be the signal to attack."

"Listen, Beautiful, you remember the moves I showed you, right?"

"Yes, Les, I do."

"Then, once whoever has the syringe is within striking distance, attack. You don't want to get injected. Even though we will be there, have the proper medication available, and you will be safe, there is no need for you to have Special K in your system."

"Babe, are you okay with this? Let me know if you want us to take them out before they can get you. There is no way to guarantee that we can switch out the ketamine for saline before entering Marco's apartment. I'm not even sure that one of the guys won't bring it with him."

"No, Ranger, I need to be in that apartment. I don't want any wiggle room for them to beat the charges or say I misconstrued something. They are predators and must be put away."

"Proud of you, Babe."

I know that Stephanie is terrified. Being gang-raped is her worst nightmare, especially since it already happened to her and in similar circumstances. Her nightmares have ramped up a little. Dr. Karen is aware and has agreed to be available for Stephanie today. Only this time, instead of her attackers using alcohol to make her more compliant, Special K, or ketamine, will be the drug of choice. Once we determined that Marco and his crew would try to drug her, Lester and Hector worked with Stephanie on the moves necessary for defending against a needle or knife because the actions were similar. I've watched her take down both Lester and Hector, but it's easier when you know you are safe and working with trustworthy men. I hope she doesn't freeze up. I considered having some of Julie's bodyguards work with Stephanie. Still, she does not feel ready to face anyone new yet. Hopefully, this will push her to try working with other men.

Once we've accounted for many scenarios, we head into the office. This entire operation centers around Stephanie, so I wouldn't be surprised if our best-laid plans get blown up in smoke. I hope Miami will be a clean slate for Stephanie and that her lousy luck from Trenton won't follow her here.

We arrive at 0830, which is our customary arrival time. We go into our respective offices to gather our paperwork for today's weekly meeting. We always move weekly meetings to Tuesdays when a federal holiday is Monday. Even though Rangeman is a 24/7, 365 operation, many employees will ask for Monday off to enjoy a three-day weekend with significant others, family, or friends. Marco thinks this practice is pointless, but his opinion won't matter in a few hours. Anything I can do to make his morning miserable is a bonus.

Lester and I decided to bring to light the discrepancies in our accounting this morning. This will catch Marco off-guard, increasing the likelihood that he will make a careless mistake later on. It will also give another reason for some Miami men to rethink their loyalty. We are under no misguided ideology that our current employees will stay employed. We know that about 10-15 percent of the Miami workers must be replaced. Fortunately, though, it's only on our security side. The suits that work for us, our accountants and lawyers, don't interact much with us here on the sixth floor. They rarely leave their designated area on the fifth floor. They excel here because most are introverted, preferring to work primarily alone, collaborating with only a few others. They are a tight-knit group.

Once every three years, we have an independent audit. We use an accounting firm based in New York City, with branches in Florida, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, among other states. They only handle these company-wide audits, which keeps them objective. Fortunately, Stephanie's discovery of Marco's skimming of the records occurred during the audit. I was able to tip off the accountant, and they could add the discrepancies to their report. This will take the heat off of me, Stephanie, and Lester. Not that it makes any difference to Lester and me, but it does to my Babe.

While the reports are being shared, I watch Marco for any indication of nerves. I can tell he's feeling the pressure, but he's almost as good as I am at hiding his emotions. Finally, the meeting is over. Marco walks over to me.

"Ranger, I have no idea who could be stealing from the company, but I promise I will find out and punish that man accordingly."

"We will be working together to bring the asshole to justice."

"Damn right." He responds before walking away. I shake my head at his naivety. Does he think I believe him? Marco, of all people, should know that I always discover the truth. No matter how hard he tries, he won't be able to keep me from uncovering his secrets. I hazard a glance at my watch, noting it's already 1045. This is good. It means there is less time for Marco to change things up. I observe Lester and Stephanie leave together, heading to their office. I know that Lester will keep Steph calm and reassure her that she'll be fine.

I move to my office, anxious to finish some work today because I know I won't do anything else once everything goes down with Marco. Like clockwork, a call comes into the control room about a break-in at Abuela's.

My intercom buzzes. "Er, Ranger, you need to come to the monitoring station. I think something is going on at Rosa Manoso's house." JP tells me. JP is a former Marine who is one of our original hires. I'm pleased he is more like Silvio and my Trenton men than Marco's. He knows that Rosa Manoso is my Abuela. I quickly get up, checking my belt while running to the control room. They would expect me to be on edge.

"Report." I bark.

"Sir, a window's been breached, out of camera range. I've tried calling Mrs. Manoso, but she is not home. The exterior cameras on the doors are off, as they traditionally are during the day."

"Shit." I glance at my watch. "There is a good chance that she is doing her shopping, but I'm heading out. Santos and Hector with me."

"Ranger, what's up?"

"It's Abuela. Window alarm."

"Do we need backup?"

"No, not yet. Let's investigate. I don't think Abuela is home. I don't want to frighten her neighbors."

"Gotcha," Lester replies while checking his weapons.

"Ranger, let me know how Abuela is. If you need me to sit with her this afternoon," Steph starts.

"I'll call."

"Don't get shot."

"Don't go crazy," I respond to her quip, not entirely remembering how it started. Then, I broke my rule and kissed Stephanie, putting as much emotion as possible into the kiss. I need her to know that I'm here for her, that I love her, and that she can do this.

The three of us head down the stairs to the garage. Once there, I hop into my Turbo while Les and Hector enter Les' Charger. We pull out of the garage and drive around the block. Mike and his godson are waiting and jump in our cars as we jump out. They continue to go towards Abuela's house. Once out of sight, Les and I open our secret entrance in the alley between our building and the building next to us. It is about halfway down, out of sight of anyone looking. We quickly enter the anteroom before getting into the elevator. I put in my code, which moves the elevator to the roof. Once it opens, we enter the stairwell to the roof. We stand by the door, waiting to hear Stephanie arrive.

After what feels like an eternity but is only about two minutes, we hear Stephanie and Marco. I have to use all my skills to stay where I am, waiting for the right moment to leave. I'd like nothing more than to grab Marco now, but I know Steph won't be safe if I do that. I need to send a clear message that no one is to mess with my woman.

I have my earpiece in, listening to what the various bugs in Marco's apartment are picking up from the conversation as my blood runs cold. I can almost feel Stephanie's fear run through my veins. Finally, I hear the words "Go" in my ear, and we breach the door. The sight before me warms my heart even as the beast within me is salivating for the kill. Stephanie has Max on his back on the floor, with the rest of the men momentarily stunned, the syringe lying several feet from the closest person. Soon enough, we are noticed, and the actual fight begins. However, Marco and his miscreants are no match for our righteous anger, and we soon have them all in zip ties, being escorted to the holding cells, except Marco.

Once I was sure the threat was over, I walked to Stephanie and wrapped my arms around her. She needed to feel next to me to know that she was safe. She simply nodded, and I knew she gained more confidence. I whisper "proud of you" in her ear. Not many men could flip Max over their shoulder onto his back, but my Babe, my fiancé, did. Lester is the next to go to Stephanie to give his praise, and I can see the pride he has for his newest trainee. One thing is for sure, though: when word gets around Miami and eventually the other branches, no one will underestimate Stephanie or wonder why she is part of the Core Team. She just earned her stripes.

I turn to look at my former best friend, my former colleague, and my team member, and can't help but feel nothing but disgust and disappointment.

"Why? Why did you go against everything we stood for, everything we built? Why did you want to ruin what we had?"

Marco glared at me before he manically laughed. "That's rich, coming from you. You had to be in charge, in control. I was your best friend. I was the one who had your back for two years. I was the one who sacrificed while this business was built. But, suddenly, I'm pushed to the curb, replaced with Tank, Lester, and Bobby. Fine, I understand. You gave me Miami to run but wouldn't let me run it my way. Then, whenever you were called out, you asked for the "dream team," which no longer included me. I was relegated to a third-class citizen. You don't respect me. You don't value me. So, I decided to take what I earned and deserved."

I had to pause, understanding that he was right to an extent. "You excelled here. You said you loved Miami and didn't want to live up north. You didn't want to be a part of opening Boston or Atlanta. So I let you stay here as you requested. You could have come with me, but you chose to stay behind. That is not on me."

"Whatever. You had Rachel, and you threw her and your daughter away. You had your pieces of ass lined up here, in Boston, in Atlanta, at your beck and call, and then you ditch them for what? A skinny, white, worthless piece of ass. She's not even that hot. At least Rachel is smoking. Then, you couldn't even share. You used to share."

I shake my head, understanding that Marco's mind is twisted. "If you would have spent even five minutes getting to know Stephanie, you would understand why she is the only one for me. But even though she is "not hot," you still were ready to fuck her, weren't you? You still wanted a piece of her ass. Why? What's wrong with your wife? She loves and supports you and will be heartbroken when she learns what you did. What about Rita? Did you love her, too? How many other mistresses are you stringing along while you are wearing a wedding band? Those women I "shared" I never had. I would never treat a woman that way. Those were women I rejected to turn to you for their kicks because I wouldn't give it to them. As for the women I "had at my beck and call," they weren't anything more than friends with benefits. They knew what they were involved in, a relationship based solely on scratching an itch. Once I found the person who held my heart, I let them go. I never would disrespect them or Stephanie like that. I haven't spoken to any of them in over three years. I'm not the dishonest man here. You are. Lester, take him to a holding cell. MDPD will be here shortly to take them into custody. Stephanie and I will be pressing charges. You can thank Stephanie for letting you live because if it were up to me, you'd be dead."

I approach Stephanie and take her hand, escorting her out of Marco's apartment and into ours. I know I have some explaining to do, and it's time. She is the only woman for me, and I hope she believes me.