I was so cold. The river current was pulling me along and I was out of energy, my reserves had run dry and it was hard to find the will to keep fighting. I kept seeing the Rangeman pulling that trigger again and again. I'd floated out of the park and I could hear the sound of traffic and people as I entered the city. There were a few shouts of surprise and alarm as people noticed me. Someone dove in near by and a strong arm encircled my waist, pulling me against a chest. I could see the familiar black shirt of a Rangeman uniform and I felt a rush of terror. I thrashed desperately and both of us dunked underwater. I felt my foot make contact and I pushed away as hard as I could. Breaking the surface, I took a deep breath and looked around desperately. There was a curse behind me and I flipped around to face my attacker.

"Steph! It's me." Came a frustrated shout. I blinked rapidly to clear my vision and focused on the soaked face of Lester. "Goddamn it, you've got a good kick. Try not to drown us please." He said as he cautiously reached for me again. Relief flooded my system and I latched onto him, clinging desperately to him as he towed us back to shore. Cal met us at the edge and hauled me up, wrapping an emergency blanket around me before taking out his phone. Lester wrapped me in a tight hug. "Shh Beautiful. I've got you."

I realized I was gasping and sobbing and tried desperately to speak. "Ra-ra-Ranger -shot - park." I managed to get out between my shivers and tears. "Gotta help him." I started to shove out of Lester's embrace.

"Steph! Hey, settle down. We know. We heard the shots over the phone and traced his car. Tank and a bunch of the men are already at the park."

I struggled harder. "No! It was a rangeman that shot him! One of the back ups, Cannon or Carson? He shot his partner and then Ranger."

Lester tensed and Cal repeated my comments on the phone. "Tank. Steph says the hostile was Cannon or Carson." I could hear Tanks voice on the other end but couldn't make out the words. "Carson's body was on scene but there is no sign of Cannon or Ranger." Cal passed on to us.

I grabbed the phone from Cal's hands. "Tank! Ranger is on the bridge. He threw me over and Cannon sh-shot him."

"Steph he's not here. We've checked the bridge and the woods. Could he have escaped?"

"No, I saw him shoot him." I whimpered. "He was hurt badly. He was shot a couple times and couldn't stand even before that."

There was a long silence from Tank. "We've informed the police. They're arranging for divers to come out and search." I was horrified to realize they would be looking for his body. It would have been swept up by the current same as me and god knows where it would end up. Tank must have heard the strangled gasp I tried to contain because he continued. "Steph, he might not be in the river. Maybe he survived and Cannon took him."

"I'm coming back. I need to see." I told him, pushing off the blanket. There was silence on the phone. "Tank, please?.

"Theres no point Steph. I'm sorry but there's nothing here and its not safe at the moment. Ranger would want us to keep you safe. I'll keep you updated on what the police find." Tank said firmly and I passed the phone back to Cal listlessly. What was even the point of continuing to argue? I was exhausted and Ranger was gone.

While we waited for Cal to finish talking with Tank, Lester pulled out a go bag from the trunk. He quickly tossed me a shirt and some sweatpants before pulling out a pair for himself. "Here, change into these. They're going to be huge on you but at least they're dry." I gratefully slipped into the clothes, using the blanket as a cover.

We drove back to Rangeman and I was guided up to the fifth floor where I looked around. There was a noticeable decrease in men around and the ones that were there were subdued. I was able to identify all of them and realized that they were all long term employees. "New staff have all been sent out to do patrols. They've temporarily lost security clearance to come past the first floor." Lester explained as he dug through a supply cupboard and then picked out a new phone. I watched as he tossed my soaked useless phone out and expertly set up my replacement. "We're going through everyones background again and a search of their phones and homes."

"Can you do that?" I asked.

"We can if they want to keep working here. We need to be sure that no one else was involved in this and we need to know how Cannon made it through our security." He moved over to his workstation and typed quickly, pulling up a file. "Paul Cannon, 35 years old, 6 ft 3. He was hired here 17 months ago after 2 terms as a Marine. He excels at surveillance, technology and close contact fighting." He clicked on his photo and I studied his face. It was definitely the same man and I shuddered.

Cal joined us as we made our way to the elevator. "They tracked down Cannon's SUV. It was abandoned in a nearby parking lot. There's blood in the backseat. The blood type matches Ranger but it takes time to do a DNA test to be positive. The divers are continuing their search but it seems likely Cannon took Ranger with him and switched to an unknown vehicle."

Relief and fear flooded my system. He was likely still alive! But I knew how injured he had been before I'd gone in the river and it was unlikely Cannon would be doing much to keep him breathing. In fact he was probably taking out some rage on him for getting in his way with me.

They walked me to Ranger's door and Lester handed me the phone. "Do you want someone to stay with you?" He asked me worriedly and I shook my head, fighting back tears. "Alright Steph. The building is on lockdown, no one can get to you. Only Tank, Bobby and I have access to this floor and only the men you know will be allowed to come up with one of us. If you need someone call the command centre. Oh and you should probably call your family and Morelli. Word of your swim in the river has spread through the burg." I swore at that and he pulled me in for a quick hug before both men headed back to the elevator.

I locked the door and slid to the ground, bursting into tears now that I was finally alone. After crying myself hoarse, I took some deep breaths trying to get myself back under control and pulled out the cellphone. There were 23 missed calls and 41 texts waiting for me. I winced but unlocked my phone and opened the messages. Most were from Joe but there was several from Lulu, Connie and Mary Lou. I sent back a quick message that I was fine and safely locked away but that I couldn't talk. I called my mom and quickly told her the same thing before hanging up, unwilling to listen to her tirade at the moment.

I finally forced myself back to my feet and headed to the bathroom, deciding I was in desperate need for a shower. I started the water and was about to strip when I heard my phone beep, notifying me of a text. I sighed but grabbed it, knowing that my friends were all concerned. A picture popped up on the screen and I felt my legs give out as I looked at Ranger's bloody form.