Virginia Safe house, today
Tank
Tank always liked this group of safe houses. Located on the back end of the residential development on the former Vint Hill Farms Station, RangeMan was able to acquire and reinforce the security in this cul de sac of 9 houses. They were top quality with lots of extras- shatter-proof glass, heavy steel doors, fancy monitoring equipment- but still blended in the overall neighborhood. The first two houses off the main road housed the RangeMen that patrolled the area and the staff along with a few Feds that came and went. Ranger's family were split between the houses on either side of this one at the closed end of the cul de sac and the Martines were next on the left. Ranger and Stephaie would be in the basement suite. The main room was large enough for a hospital bed and all the equipment Ranger would need as he recovered, there was a bedroom for Stephanie so she could sleep nearby, a bathroom and kitchenet. There were eight exterior concrete steps to get in and out, and Bobby was arranging for a lift so in his wheelchair, Ranger could get outside. He's pissed he still needs it but recovery happens when it happens. And Tank was pretty sure every time Bobby or Br. Brown said that, Ranger was internally planning to drop them in a 'Stan with a bottle of water and a map. At least Hal would be down tomorrow with Rex and Bob, and the Schwartz were already in residence. Ranger was going crazy in the hospital, as secure as it was. He was also being a stubborn ass, declining to marry Stephanie until he was fully recovered. Sometimes, Ranger could be a real moron- Something Tank knew only too well!
The sandpit years earlier
Pierre Sherman was nicknamed Tank before he achieved his tremendous size. As an Army brat, he was tagged Sherman Tank early in childhood and had then grown into his name. He was destined to be a military planner, destined from birth to be a Special Forces soldier. Ric Manoso's path was not as straight a line. Juvenile detention for car theft as part of a gang initiation didn't match up with early admission to Rutgers with a bunch of Advanced Placement courses having him as a seventeen-year-old just shy of a college junior. In his two years at Rutgers, he was half finished an MBA, when he dropped out mid semester and joined the military. Top marks in basic and record-breaking performances were then followed by his first leave, where he ended up blind drunk with little recall of the events that resulted in a pregnant one-night stand and a hasty marriage to a girl he didn't know. At the time he blamed it all on an old girlfriend breaking his heart.
He was recommended for one of the nation's highest honors for bravery above and beyond, having saved his team, Tank included. But last night, Manoso got into a brawl over a random remark and would have killed to soldier involved if others hadn't intervened.
It just didn't add up. It was like Manoso was two people. An amazing soldier and a complete idiot. And it was his job to find out who Ricardo Carlos Manoso really was. This team needed to have singular focus, and Tank needed to know if there were any more screw-ups coming from this recruit.
Newly minted First Lieutenant R. Manoso reported to Captain Sherman as ordered and at his direction, took a seat across from him at the battered metal table. After some preliminaries about the award, Tank got straight to the point.
"Manoso, you are being considered for command of a special forces group and I have been asked for feedback. I am of two minds. The first is that you are a hell of a soldier. The second is that you have some demon on your shoulder that keeps derailing you at random points in your life. You go from a practical tea tootler to a drunk on the turn of a dime. You go from methodical planner and military thinker to a rash brawler, and I just don't know which of you is going to show up on any given day.
"Sir, no excuses, sir."
"I need to know what happened in Miami, and what happened last night. It hasn't escaped my notice that both episodes occurred on the same date. It can't all be about an old girlfriend. For Christ sake it was years ago."
And the unexpected happened.
Manoso's eyes flooded with tears and he told Tank everything that happened and the aftermath. All that he kept bottled up about Ana and the horrible anniversary that haunted him.
Military Hospital somewhere in the sandpit one year later
Captain R. Manoso was in a private room, recovering from surgery. Kinsey had already been evacuated to the States. Manoso got him out, but Kinsey would never be active duty again.
After debriefing Orrin, Halo, Alamo and the rest of the team, it was clear that Ranger did all the right things and got his whole team out, without regard to his own safety.
Kinsey described him as a man possessed. Ready to sacrifice everything to get them out after they were pinned down.
Tank knew what drove his half lunatic friend and colleague.
The anniversary.
Again.
For fuck's sake, women could be the absolute worst.
"Listen, you need to stop letting the Ric who loved her and aches for her from trying to kill the Ranger who can do good things for the world. She betrayed you, man, back when you were young and vulnerable, but that is a past you can't change." Tank looked Ranger in the eyes. "You can't change who you were or what happened. You have to decide to move forward from it."
Ranger couldn't respond, as he was sure his voice would break and he was struggling to keep back tears. After all this time, he still had tears left for Ana. Damn it!
Tank continued. "We have discussed this before. You need to lock it down and stop letting it affect your choices before your pain and guilt kills you and your team. You are too good to be this reckless. Sharpen your skills and keep your head in the game, or I will have you removed as team commander. And that is no idle threat. It is a promise. The team is more important than any member. YOU know that."
Ranger pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. Tank was right. Again, He couldn't build the future he wanted if he kept reliving his biggest mistake. His team, his men deserved better.
"I give you my word, Tank."
And for the rest of the time in the sandpit, Ranger kept his word and locked that shit down, for Tank and his team.
Virginia Safe house, today
Stephanie
I am completely in love with my fiancé, Ricardo Carlos Manoso… Which is the only reason I haven't smothered his stubborn Cuban ass with a pillow.
Fucking idiot stubborn man!
First, he declined to marry me in his hospital room when he was finally conscious, because he was concerned he would leave me a widow. He wasn't completely out of danger, blah, blah blah… so I waited a couple of weeks to bring it up again.
Then it was "Oh, but I have a catheter and a colostomy… We need to wait until I can use a bathroom myself. I don't want to be a burden, yada, yada, yada… That was three weeks ago.
Last week he told me he wanted to wait until he finally got out of the hospital.
Now we are "home" and he wants to be able to walk unaided.
He is testing my patience… AND I WAS NEVER KNOWN FOR PATIENCE!
The whole world back home is imploding- cyber terrorists shut down the electronic medical records at the Trenton's hospitals. Banks had been taken off-line randomly, and if not for the doubling of the RangeMan staff, the businesses of Trenton would have been ransacked by the gangs. Gang membership had skyrocketed- the police believed they came in from other parts of the country to create issues. But the government agencies and Ranger's network was making progress.
Tank confirmed that the driving force was some Russian oligarch bent on revenge. Hector and Gabriele Rose "spoke" with two of the henchmen and learned about the search for a criminal as a part of the Trenton Mob.
Unfortunately, the Russian was too late to "interview" Jimmy Rosolli about the bastard he was looking for. Rumor had it Jimmy alone could identify the man.
His rage was evidenced as he took a scorched earth policy to Trenton.
And since Ranger could not lead the efforts to stop the Russian, I had been training while Ranger recovered. I lifted weights, spent time with Halo at the shooting range, and Lester and Hector helped me gain street fighting skills. If Ranger couldn't protect me, I would need to protect both of us.
Of course if he doesn't agree to marry me soon, I may have to kick Ranger's ass.