Virginia Safehouse

Stephanie

There was a walking path along the inside of the fifteen-foot wall that enclosed our cul de sac. As soon as Carlos could walk with a cane, we started walking in the evenings. It gave us quiet time alone and I cherished it. Even on the days when Bob joined us, it was lovely. He was a much better behaved dog since coming here- probably because he was never alone. And I have grown quite comfortable here as well. After the extended time we spent in the hospital as the Pardos, it felt so good to just be Stephanie and Carlos.

Tonight, though, I was feeling unsettled. I have been going down rabbit holes trying to make connections that may not exist. And now poor Connie. She lost the man she loves.

And I know it was no small miracle that my wonderful man was walking beside me.

It was quiet on the path tonight. Before the Manosos and Martines, minus Julie, headed to the compound in Florida yesterday, we would usually run into some of his family when we walked. They were all welcoming. Everyone promised that we would have a big celebration after life settled down, but not to wait to get married. Funny. The last time I got married, everyone I ever knew (and several dozen I swear I never saw before or since) were there and this time it would be small, private and forever.

But first, we had a puzzle to solve. And I was really hoping Connie could help me find answers.

"I feel so bad for Connie- she is lost in grief with Vito gone. I mean he was a Mob boss but he was good to her. I guess he was good to me too when we interacted."

"Vito was good to her. And over the last several years he has been pushing for his Family to get into legitimate investments. He and Jimmy tried to maintain the peace between the Families. He was doing what was best for those depending on him. I respected him for that. His moral code was skewed, but I have been on the dark side of right and wrong myself so I won't speak against the man. And when all this shit started, he was the first on board to figure it out and protect his region of Trenton." Carlos drew me closer.

"You got to know him pretty well." I looked into the eyes of the man I loved. "But then, you knew him longer than you know me. And it the same with Jimmy. And Connie…"

"I should have told you… long before now. But I went a little crazy after Ana."

He went a lot crazy, from what Tank had told me, but no point bringing that up now.

"And because of her, you are hypervigilant with me- which I appreciate, given my line of work. Speaking of work, what are the doctors saying?"

"I can't go in the field any time soon. I have to remain in Virginia for the foreseeable future as the doctors want to work up options for a treatment plan once the testing is finished. They do not see a fast resolution in my immediate future."

"And did you talk to your therapist and work on a plan to move forward." Carlos has been working with Dr. Shapiro since his release from the hospital. Initially around his limitations, then about Kinsey, and so it made sense that this would also be addressed.

"I will have sessions twice a week. But with me on limited duty and the Core team all working on different projects, the schedule is getting complicated. Tank and I are meant to be in Boston next week to do annual reviews and give out bonuses and I can't fly. Tank can't go alone per the elevated security status at RangeMan right now, and I know the guys depend on their bonus money at this time of the year so I hate to postpone but I don't see another option."

"Carlos, I'm your other option. I can go with Tank. I am trained now. I'll be qualified with the required firepower once Manny gets here and then I will be able to take your place." And it would give me time away from the puzzle so I can recharge.

"I will talk to Tank." I was so excited that he didn't say no that I wanted to dance down the path, but then my stomach rumbled.

Time to feed the beast.

Then tonight I would encourage Connie and Carlos to remember Ana.

I needed to find the needle in the haystack of their memories.

Charlotte prepared the garlic bread as I set the table. She seemed calm, relieved. Gabriela left for the airport with Birdman and Alamo and was expected back in a day or two with paperwork that would allow for the building to be purchased. One problem solved. Carlos was upstairs, resting after his shower. It was hard seeing him struggle with limited stamina. He had always seemed so invincible.

"Charlotte, dinner smells amazing, what are we having?" Connie came and joined us in the kitchen. "You know this is a beautiful house, the whole cul du sac is really so nice and peaceful."

"Melvin and I have loved working and living here. And all the single guys are so helpful. They take care of repairs and landscaping, it's just so easy. Amanda and I used to alternate cooking days for the group." She pulled to large trays out of the oven. "I am gonna head over and meet up with Julie and the guys for dinner and later help Julie study for her mid-terms. So take you time sorting through everything. Buzz my cell when I can come back."

"You don't have to leave…"

"I do. It will work better if there are no distractions." She packed up a larger carrier with all the different elements of the dinner. "Your garlic bread needs to come out in five minutes."

And then she was gone.

After what might have been the best lasagna I have ever eaten, with the pan soaking and the dishes in the dishwasher, Carlos, Connie and I sat in the living room. I was in a wing chair across from them on the couch, Carlos at one end with his feet up on an ottoman and Connie, at the opposite end, kicked off her heels and tucked her legs beneath her.

Where to start…

I turned toward Connie. "The Russians, Connie they seem to know they are looking for you, even though they don't know who you are."

"I was seeing Vito."

"No, I don't think it is related to that." I searched my memory. "The Russian guys that Gabriela listened in on said they were looking for the woman that would lead them to "him". Now I think they were talking about Carlos, not his son. They knew you were a link to Carlos, that you know who he is… You can ID him to them if they can ID you. They originally thought Terry was who they were looking for, but Terry never went to Rutgers."

"So you think they believe Ric is hiding his son?"

"It is one possibility, but there is no way of knowing what they think at this stage." I took a sip of my wine- Charlotte had a way of picking the perfect bottle- and continued. "What I need to have you both do is think about the time you spent with Ana and tell me everything you remember. No detail is too small, no thought is insignificant.

Carlos looked at her with his blank face and slightly shook his head, looking like he was ready to bolt. "I don't think…"

"Not your horizontal acrobatics, Carlos. I want to know what you talked about. What memories she shared with you. Places you went, things you did, people you all knew. Since we have no leads, we don't know what is important so we need to go over everything. By the two of you being here together, you may remember together stuff each of you has completely forgotten."

And they began…

After an hour of Ana memories, I asked, "Connie, what happened to the pictures you took in the photo booth? How many were there?" Depending on the booth, there would be 3 or 4 pictures.

"There were four, Stephanie. I got one, Ana got one, and Connie kept two since she paid for them to be taken." Carlos answered. "Why is that important?"

"If they have one of the pictures, it could explain how they knew to look for Connie as well as you."

"I still have my two- they are in my college photo album. After meeting with Gabriela, I got it out and looked through it. The photo booth picture is the only one of the three of us. Ana was always camera shy. She took photos but was rarely in them."

"The Russian's don't have mine. I keep it in the Penthouse safe in Miami." Carlos offered. "And if they are trying to find me based on the one Ana took, it had me in profile, kissing her cheek."

"And weren't your eyes closed?" Connie asked. "So they wouldn't even know your eye color."

"How on earth do you remember that?" Carlos asked, voicing my thought exactly.

"Because I offered her one of mine that was a better image of you, your face, and she turned me down, she said that the one she chose was the one she wanted." Connie shook her head. "I thought it was strange at the time."

I didn't say it but I was thinking of course she doesn't want a good picture of her lover, when she had to go back to her husband. I really don't like Ana. I hate she was killed and in a brutal way, but what she did to Carlos was so wrong in so many ways.

I was still trying to pull out memories when we stopped to have our delayed dessert. Because after two huge servings of the lasagna from heaven I needed to digest before having cake and coffee. As I put on the coffee, I asked Connie, "What specific information did your Uncle Jimmy share that originally scared you both? Jimmy went to great lengths to hide you both…"

I already knew the business end of Dmitri Smirnoff's enterprises. I wanted to see what they had known about the man.

"Jimmy didn't have to tell me much- I mean, he was a hitman and said Ana's father was dangerous- he just told me to get Carlos free of her, that she was married and her father was big time Russian mob. That was enough- he was worried so I was worried. I didn't learn the rest until after Ana's letter came. And I was done at school and back in Trenton by then so I really didn't realize all Jimmy did to erase everything at Rutgers."

Carlos spoke next. "I only knew what Connie already shared. Ana only ever told me her father was disappointed in her big time, which I could totally relate to. By the time the letter came, I was already in the military. I didn't take it well." And finally Ricardo Carlos Manoso, the man I loved, told me about the anniversaries of her death and all the risks he had taken trying to escape her.

I absorbed what he told me, but questions about that could wait. "Tell me about Spring Break. When you stayed at a beach house- do either of you know the address?"

Connie answered first. "It's a dead end- originally it was owned by an LLC but the big hurricane washed it away along with a lot of other homes on the Jersey shore."

After dessert, we settled back on the couch and wing chairs. I felt like I had even more questions than answers so I changed topics.

"What do you think is up with Charlie Shine and the floor in that office building?"

Connie snorted, "God only knows. Hopefully Gabriela will get it out of him. But it's odd… back when he was chasing the treasure and trying to raise capitol, he never gave that up, even thought the rent must be substantial."

Carlos answered, "By then it was in the Feds' jurisdiction and he likely didn't want to draw attention to himself… I say we call it a night and revisit all of this after some rest and reflection"

That sounded good to me.

Ranger

When the conversation was finished Ranger felt drained.

Sad.

And so completely at a loss to deal with the rage that pressed on his heart as his thoughts whirled in his head. He could not still his mind. So he walked the trail again as Stephanie showered and got ready for bed.

Hi thoughts raced, "Ana's child, a man now, and he's in danger. Ana's child with me is in danger and my body isn't up to the work needed to find him. I am helpless and it's killing me. I want to punch away my anger and frustration but I physically can't. I want to make love to my Babe, and I can't. I can't even call her my Babe anymore- Ana ruined it, ruined me… AGAIN."

He pressed his fists into his eyes. He sure didn't feel like Batman these days. He felt every one of his thirty-nine years… His boy would be nearly twenty. And he was out in the world, unprotected, with a target on his back.

FUCK!

When he finally got to the bedroom, he found Stephanie reading the reports…again. He was pretty sure she had them memorized. He certainly did.

She looked up and motioned for him to join her on the bed.

"Carlos, how are you really? It has been a lot this week, between light duty and all the testing and now digging into all these old memories. Bringing Ana into your now… I want to make sure you are okay… that we are okay."

He leaned in for a light kiss. When he pulled away, he spoke in a low voice. "Stephanie, it was a lifetime ago, but the truth is that the Ric I was then loved her… I loved her so much it nearly destroyed me. It contributed to every stupid thing I ever said to you. Letting you in was such a huge risk for me…" He leaned his head on her chest. She was such a comfort to him

"And what happened to Ana made you super vigilant when dealing with me?" He could only nod. As she stroked the back of his head and his shoulders, he felt the pain in his chest ease.

"Come curl up with me. You know you sleep better beside me. But remember the list of things the doctor said were off the table for now."

He groaned.

"I'm not happy either but I refuse to be the one who kills you after we did all this work to keep you alive. What would Dr. Brown say?"

"She is a formidable woman." His Babe, his Stephanie was right. As he curled up beside her, he felt the stress of the evening leave him. Now this was what love felt like.