Chapter 8: Marco's POV (Tues., Sept. 6th)
I can't believe the nerve of Manoso coming down here, pushing his weight around, and changing everything I set. Damn him. I spent the last year cultivating Max, and now he's gone. I hope to tell my other minions they need to toe the line. I can't afford to have them gone too. Otherwise, my plan will fail. I want Stephanie Plum. I want her in my bed. I want to destroy her so that I can ruin Ranger. I'll return her once he gives me the Miami and Boston offices. If he doesn't, I know some people who will pay me good money for that blue-eyed woman. Blue eyes are rare in the Middle East, and the wealthy oil barrens spend a lot on blue-eyed women.
I hear a commotion in the hall, watching unnoticed as the whore, the jester, and the gangbanger runs to the garage. Good. They're all out of the building—it's time to put my plan in motion. I texted Henry, Slim, Wrench, and Carter to visit my office. Five minutes later, there was a knock on my door.
"Enter," I state.
The four men walk into my office. I gestured to them to sit around the small conference table.
"Gentlemen, I asked you here to discuss my plans. Ranger coming down here was unexpected and not what we needed. It is bringing extra scrutiny to our work. We need to toe the line from this point forward until we get more money to buy out Ranger. I'm close to having what I need. By Christmas, I'll have the necessary funds. In the meantime, we must keep him preoccupied with Stephanie's safety. He won't pay attention to what we're doing if he's worried about that little gold digger. I am working on a plan to get the whore in my apartment. If I get her there, I promise you each a turn with her. From how she managed to tame Manoso, she must be a wildcat in the sack. Henry, I need you to work on finding where she keeps the trackers on her person and figure out how to disable them without anyone, especially Hector, finding out. Having that fairy guarding her isn't conducive to my plans. I'm sure he has trackers on her that Ranger doesn't even know about. We need to find out from him how to disable them.
"Slim, do you think Gears would be willing to work with us?"
"I do. Gears isn't happy that Hector is double-checking all of his work. He is insulted."
"Can Carerra be trusted?"
"I'm not sure. Carerra seems like he is a weak link. When I tried to talk to him, he blew me off. However, I don't blame him. With his daughter suffering from leukemia, he can't afford to lose this job and the health benefits."
"You're right, Henry. I think we'll let him off the hook. Don't confide in him or tell him our plans. He would run to Ranger to tell him to get in Ranger's good graces. We can't trust anyone outside of the five of us."
"Yes, Sir," Slim and Henry respond.
"Now, who do we know that owes us a favor? We needed someone to send Stephanie threatening letters and take pictures of her when she was vulnerable. We want Ranger to think that someone is after Stephanie. Maybe we also need to throw in a few pictures of Julie to keep him off his game. While he is worried about their safety, we'll be able to set something up so that the whore will be left behind here while her guard goes elsewhere. When that happens, we can grab her and bring her to my penthouse to get our way with her. The skank won't know what hit her."
"I know a guy we can use. It will be perfect. He has a few priors for stalking so that it will be believable. He also has ties to Jersey. Let me talk to him." Slim answers.
"Make sure you can trust him. I don't want him running to Ranger and telling him what's happening."
"Don't worry, Marco, it'll be fine."
I dismiss the men before me, then sit down behind my desk. I unscramble the camera in the office. Long ago, I removed the audio recorders from my office. No one listens in on what happens in my office. I hope that Rita can get custody of that brat. The more focused Ranger is on his family, The easier it is for me to take Rangeman from him.
Eight years ago, I met Rachel Manoso. She and Ranger were freshly divorced as she was getting ready to marry Ron. She was beautiful. I was taken by her. But she was in love with her husband-to-be, Ron Martine. Ranger asked me to watch his daughter, Julie, to ensure her safety. He was packing to go on a mission from Hell, which he thought would send him there. It was dangerous, the most challenging mission Ranger had ever been sent on up until that time. He was still relatively green, only his fourth black ops mission and the first without Tank or Bobby. Lester was the only man he was allowed to take, as it was a two-man operation.
They were charged with taking out a general in the Venezuelan Army who wanted to overthrow the government. He was brutal, a real mean motherfucker, who thought nothing of beating women, raping young girls and boys, and forcing people into slavery. He was worse than Hitler and would have destroyed South America if allowed to gain power. So, the intel was gathered. Ranger and Lester were sent to Venezuela to kill the general and his two top aides.
Meanwhile, back home, Rachel was pressuring Ranger to give up his rights to Julie, which he was fighting tooth and nail. Suddenly, Ranger conceded. The day after he got the papers from the court informing him that Julie was no longer his child, he called his handler for this mission. I think he wanted to die.
As luck would have it, Ranger and Lester killed the general and his henchmen undetected, making it to the extraction point without a scratch. They were awarded a few medals; everything was buried under red tape and security clearance. That was the mission that made Lester number two and Ranger number one. He has gone on countless suicide missions and always came out unscathed. Yes, he got shot or stabbed a time or two, but nothing critical or severe. I don't know how he is so lucky. I know he has skills, but where he has been, luck has to be in the mix.
While looking after Julie during those early years, I met Rachel's sister-in-law, Rita Komer. She was breathtaking. She wasn't married then; two years later, she married her now ex-husband, but we clicked. I slept with her for about six months and was sent on my final mission. I wasn't stupid or suicidal like Manoso, Santos, Brown, and Tank to keep resigning the damned contracts. When I returned, Rita was 'in love' with her husband-to-be, and we broke off our relationship until the vows were said. We never entirely broke things off. I guess you could say I was the other man. When I married my wife, we continued our illicit affair, much to both our mutual satisfaction and happiness. Rita's the only reason why I stay married to my wife.
I thought Ranger would want nothing to do with Julie now that Rachel and Ron were out of the way. He never expressed any interest in the brat. I don't get it. I need Rita to get custody of Julie, and I will work to counter anything Ranger puts together. My wife, Alicia, is a good woman, and I love her, but she is not Rita. If I didn't have children, I'd leave her in a heartbeat now that Rita is available. Alas, I'm stuck with her. Maybe I can get one of my gang contacts to take out Alicia. I'll have to think about that, but first, I need to get Stephanie.
I get a text from Rita, informing me she is at the school and on her way to leave with Julie. Once she's out of the building, she'll bring Julie to the airstrip, where I have the plane waiting. The jet is set to fly Julie and Rita to Colorado. From there, she'll pass on a different flight with aliases to Seattle and the Philippines. Once out of the country, I'll be able to make my move on both Ranger and Stephanie. Ranger will be so involved with looking for the brat that I should be able to get the whore alone.
I know, though, from experience, that nothing ever goes as planned when dealing with Manoso. I walk out onto the floor, hearing a conversation between Ace and someone.
"Mr. Manoso is currently meeting with clients. He has an opening at 1630, Mr. Lopez." Ace says into the phone. "No problem. You are scheduled. See you then, Mr. Lopez."
Shit. A call from Lopez, our attorney, can't be good. I hope he hasn't figured out the change in custody yet. I mean, he's a sharp attorney, great at his job. I hope Rita didn't fuck this up again. I guess I'll be moving on plan B, which I just discussed with my men. This proves the adage, don't let a woman do a man's job.